Tigers continue road swing at Georgia Sunday

Jan. 20, 2018

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn women's basketball team plays its second road game in four days Sunday when the Tigers travel to Athens, Ga., to face the Georgia Lady Bulldogs. Game time is 2 p.m. CT at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Tigers are looking to get back on the winning track after dropping a heartbreaker at LSU on Thursday night when LSU rallied late for a 59-56 win in Baton Rouge. Sophomore Daisa Alexander and freshman Abigayle Jackson made their first career starts with Alexander contributing a team-leading 20 points and 7 steals in the effort.

Georgia enters Sunday's game on a four-game winning streak and after an open date on Thursday. The Lady Bulldogs, in their last outing, earned a 92-84 overtime win at No. 17 Texas A&M last Sunday. From that win, Caliya Robinson earned SEC Player of the Week honors, and freshman Gabby Connally was SEC Freshman of the Week after a 37-point performance against the Aggies.

Auburn and Georgia met twice last year with the Lady Bulldogs earning a pair of narrow victories. Georgia won 57-51 in the season's first meeting in Auburn, and then claimed a 56-52 victory in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

Andy Burcham and Brit Bowen will call the action on the radio on WTGZ 93.9 FM with the pregame show beginning at 1:45 p.m. CT; fans can also listen online at AuburnTigers.com and via TuneIn Radio. SEC Network will have the broadcast with Brenda VanLengen and Andraya Carter on the call.

Auburn Quick Hitters

- This is the 48th meeting between Auburn and Georgia in women's basketball; the series dates back to 1975
- Georgia leads the all-time series 29-18, including a 17-5 record in Athens
- Georgia has won three straight and four of the last six
- Auburn dropped two close games to Georgia last season, a 57-51 decision at home and a 56-52 setback in the SEC Tournament
- Auburn ranks in the top 5 nationally in steals per game (3rd - 14.4); turnovers forced per game (5th - 24.1) and turnover margin (5th - +8.4)
- Sophomore Daisa Alexander and freshman Abigayle Jackson made their first career starts in Thursday's game at LSU
- Alexander's 7 steals vs. LSU were the most by an Auburn player this season
- Auburn set a new school record by hitting 16-of-16 free throws in the game with Texas A&M (1/7)
- From the Tennessee game (1/4) into the third quarter of the South Carolina game (1/11), Auburn made 24 consecutive free throws
- The Tigers tied a school record for fewest turnovers with 5 vs. Florida on Dec. 31 while forcing the Gators into 28
- Auburn forced a season-high 35 turnovers vs. UL-Monroe, second-most under Williams-Flournoy and 8th-most in Auburn history
- Auburn has forced at least 20 turnovers in 16 of 18 games this season and 25+ turnovers in eight games
- Auburn has won 24 of its last 27 games when forcing at least 25 turnovers (6-2 this season)
- Junior point guard Janiah McKay is Auburn's top scorer with 17.0 points/game; she also leads team and ranks sixth in SEC in assists (4.6) and leads SEC in steals (3.0)
- McKay was 11-of-11 on free throws vs. Texas A&M (1/7), tying an Auburn record held by 3 other players; she made 20 in a row over a four-game stretch from Florida (12/31) through South Carolina (1/11)
- McKay has scored 25+ points in three straight games; she is the fourth Auburn player to accomplish that feat in the last 30 years
- McKay scored her 1,000th career point vs. Arkansas, becoming the 33rd player in Auburn history to hit that plateau
- McKay matched her career-high with 29 points vs. Louisiana Tech (11/19); also had 29 vs. UT and Alabama last year
- Freshman Unique Thompson was named SEC Freshman of the Week after her first career double-double (16 pts, 14 rebs) vs. Louisiana Tech (11/19); she had 10 points and 10 rebounds by halftime
- Thompson earned a second SEC Freshman of the Week nod after back-to-back double-doubles vs. UL-Lafayette and Southern; her 29 points at ULL was a career-high and the second-most ever by an Auburn freshman
- Thompson has 5 double-doubles this season: LA Tech (16/14), ULL (29/12), Southern (18/10), SE Louisiana (10/11), Arkansas (14/13); only two Auburn players have had more double-doubles as a freshman (DeWanna Bonner, Le'Coe Willingham)
- Thompson had six blocks vs. LA Tech, most for Auburn player since 2011 (Jassany Williams, 7 vs. Duke)
- Thompson pulled down 16 rebounds at Virginia Tech, the most by an Auburn player since Tra'Cee Tanner had 19 at Florida Gulf Coast in 2015
- Alexander scored a career-high 19 points in the season opener at Virginia Tech (11/13); then topped that career-high with 25 points at Indiana (12/3); she also had 21 vs. Florida (12/31) and 20 at LSU (1/18)

Last Time Out

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Sophomore Daisa Alexander scored 20 points in her first career start, but Auburn could not hold a second-half lead in a 59-56 loss at LSU Thursday night.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, but a season-high 27 turnovers ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" eight in the fourth quarter ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" proved the difference in a tough road loss.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Alexander's 20 points led three Tigers in double figures. Unique Thompson scored 10 points in the second half to finish with 11, and Janiah McKay finished with 10. McKay and Alexander both battled foul trouble and played most of the fourth quarter with four fouls. Thompson led Auburn with seven rebounds.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Alexander and freshman Abigayle Jackson made their first career starts as Auburn made its first lineup changes since the ULM game on Nov. 29. Jackson had four points and four rebounds in 19 minutes of action.

Noteworthy

A WIN OVER GEORGIA WOULD...
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º End a 3-game skid against the Lady Bulldogs.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Snap a 5-game losing streak.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Auburn's second true road win of the year.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Coach Flo's 99th win at Auburn.

AUBURN vs. GEORGIA
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn leads the all-time series with LSU 31-21. Auburn has won the last two meetings.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn has a narrow edge in the series in games played in Baton Rouge with a 12-11 lead.

LAST MEETING (March 2, 2017, in Greenville, S.C.):
AUBURN 54, LSU 49
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn could not hold onto a halftime lead as Georgia used a strong second half to defeat the Tigers, 56-52, in the second round of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers forced Georgia into 16 first-half turnovers, turning those into 17 points, but were only able to coax two turnovers out of the Bulldogs in the second half.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Georgia overcame Auburn's halftime advantage thanks to offensive rebounds and second-chance points ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" the first seven Bulldog points of the third quarter came on second-chance opportunities. Georgia finished with 15 second-chance points off 15 offensive rebounds. The Bulldogs only pulled down six more rebounds than the Tigers ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" an improvement from the teams' regular-season meeting ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" but the second-chance points were key.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Sophomore Janiah McKay led Auburn's scoring with 13 points, but senior Katie Frerking led in every other category. Frerking finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists, five steals and two blocks. Jazmine Jones matched a season-high with 10 points off the bench, and Jessica Jones pulled down six rebounds.

SCOUTING GEORGIA
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Georgia is 16-2 overall, 4-1 in SEC play, and ranked No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Lady Bulldogs were the first team out of the latest AP poll, and the NCAA named them the No. 16 overall seed in their first "Top 16" reveal on Thursday night.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Lady Bulldogs score an average of 73.6 points/game while holding opponents to 58.7/game. Georgia has won four straight games in SEC play with their only setback being a loss to No. 3 Mississippi State.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º UGA has both the reigning SEC Player and Freshman of the week. Caliya Robinson was player of the week after 18 points, 19 rebounds and 8 blocks at Texas A&M. She is Georgia's leading scorer and rebounder with 13.1 points and 7.9 rebounds/game. Gabby Connally was Freshman of the Week after scoring 37 points in the A&M win.

SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 10-8 on the season, 1-5 SEC, coming off a narrow 59-56 loss at LSU on Thursday night.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers are scoring 64.4 points per game while holding opponents to 56.6/game, second-best in the SEC. Auburn's scoring defense ranks 28th nationally.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Junior point guard Janiah McKay has scored in double-figures in 17 of the Tigers' 18 games, including matching a career-high with 29 vs. Louisiana Tech. She also leads the SEC in steals (3.0/game) and is sixth in assists (4.6/game).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Freshman Unique Thompson has been a breakout star, twice earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors while averaging 11.4 points and 9.3 rebounds. She has five double-doubles on the season, including three straight vs. ULL, Southern and Southeastern La. She had her best SEC game against Texas A&M with 22 points and 9 rebounds, then followed that up with a double-double against Arkansas (14 points/13 rebounds).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior forward Jazmine Jones is averaging 5.7 points/game. She had a season-high 9 rebounds vs. Texas A&M.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Sophomore Daisa Alexander has been another breakout star, averaging 13.9 points off the bench. In just 20 minutes vs. Indiana, she scored a career-high 25 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter to help Auburn pull away. She added 21 points in the win over Florida, 17 vs. Texas A&M and 16 at South Carolina. She made her first career start at LSU on Jan. 18, scoring 20 points and notching a career-high 7 steals.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn has forced at least 20 turnovers in 15 of 17 games this season and has forced 25 or more eight times (29 vs. LA Tech; 25 vs. Northwestern, 35 vs. ULM; 26 vs. Southern; 31 vs. SE Louisiana; 30 vs. XULA; 28 vs. Florida; 28 at Tennessee).

Looking Ahead

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º After an open date in the midweek, Auburn returns to action next Sunday, Jan. 28, as the Tigers host in-state rival Alabama. Game time is 4 p.m. CT at Auburn Arena with the broadcast on SEC Network and WTGZ 93.9 FM.