Auburn women begin SEC road play at No. 7 Tennessee

Jan. 3, 2018

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn women's basketball team hits the road for the first time in over a month when the Tigers travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to face the seventh-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers. Game time is 6 p.m. Thursday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Tigers (10-3, 1-0 SEC) continue to ride a seven-game winning streak, the longest streak for Auburn since the 2012-13 season, and are coming off an 84-55 victory over Florida on New Year's Eve where the Tigers outscored the Gators 30-4 in the fourth quarter. Auburn's 29-point margin of victory was its largest in an SEC game since the 2011-12 season.

Tennessee (13-0, 1-0) is one of four undefeated teams left in the country and ranked No. 7 in both national polls. The Lady Vols opened SEC play on the road Sunday with a 63-49 victory at Kentucky.

Auburn looks to beat Tennessee for the second straight year. The Tigers overcame an early 17-point deficit to earn a 79-61 win over the Lady Vols last year in Auburn, snapping a nine-game skid to Tennessee. If Auburn wins, it would be the Tigers' first win in Knoxville since 1988 and the first time to beat UT twice in a row since 2009.

Andy Burcham has the radio call on WTGZ 93.9 FM and online at AuburnTigers.com and TuneIn Radio. The game can be seen via SEC Network + with Bob Kesling and Andraya Carter calling the action; SEC Network + is available online via WatchESPN or the ESPN app on mobile devices.

Auburn Quick Hitters

- This is the 53rd meeting between Auburn and Tennessee in women's basketball
- Auburn is 11-41 all-time against the Lady Vols, including a 2-20 record in Knoxville
- Auburn won last season's meeting at Auburn Arena, a 79-61 result after the Tigers trailed by 17 in the first quarter
- Auburn has won five of its last six SEC openers after an 84-55 home win over Florida on Sunday
- Auburn is 19-20 all-time in SEC openers, 5-1 under Coach Flo
- The Tigers are on a seven-game winning streak, the longest since 2012-13 and the second longest of the Coach Flo era
- Auburn's average margin of victory during their seven-game win streak is 21.3 points
- Auburn ranks in the top 10 nationally in scoring defense (4th - 51.5); steals per game (3rd - 15.1); turnovers forced per game (3rd - 25.5) and turnover margin (3rd - +10.1).
- 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 all 13 games this season and 25+ turnovers in seven games
- Auburn has won 24 of its last 26 games when forcing at least 25 turnovers (6-1 this season)
- Junior point guard Janiah McKay is Auburn's top scorer with 16.0 points/game; she also leads team and ranks third in SEC in assists (5.0) and leads SEC in steals (3.2)
- McKay matched her career-high with 29 points vs. Louisiana Tech (11/19); also had 29 vs. UT and Alabama last year
- McKay had a career-high 8 rebounds vs. North Carolina A&T (11/16)
- 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 4 double-doubles this season: LA Tech (16/14), ULL (29/12), Southern (18/10), SE Louisiana (10/11)
- Thompson had six blocks vs. LA Tech, most for Auburn player since 2011 (Jassany Williams, 7 vs. Duke)
- Thompson became the sixth Auburn freshman since 2005 to earn a start in her first collegiate game; she played 34 minutes in the opener at Virginia Tech
- 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
- Thompson missed two games with injury suffered vs. Northwestern (11/25), returned to lineup at Indiana (12/3)
- Sophomore Daisa 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)
- Alexander is second on the team with 13.5 points/game; she has scored in double-figures in 11 of 13 games
- Alexander is fourth in the SEC with 2.5 steals/game
- Junior Erica Sanders had a career-high 6 steals vs. Louisiana Tech (11/19)
- Junior Emari Jones had a career-high 7 rebounds at Virginia Tech (11/13) and earned her first start vs. N.C. A&T (11/16)
- Jones scored a career-high 18 points in the Tigers' win over Florida (12/31)
- Auburn's win over North Carolina A&T on Nov. 16 was the 900th win in program history, dating back to 1971-72
- Auburn is the 24th program in NCAA Division I to win 900 women's basketball games

Last Time Out

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Janiah McKay had 25 points, Daisa Alexander had 21, and Auburn outscored Florida 49-19 in the second half to earn an 84-55 win in the SEC opener for both teams Sunday at Auburn Arena.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers overcame a 16-point first-quarter deficit to win their SEC opener for the fifth time in six years, thanks in large part to forcing the Gators into 28 turnovers, converting those into 33 points. Meanwhile, Auburn tied a school record for fewest turnovers in a game with five and held the SEC's top 3-point shooting team to just six treys while tying a season-high with eight 3-pointers of their own.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Junior Emari Jones provided a first-half spark and scored a career-high 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and finished with five rebounds and two steals. Freshman Unique Thompson had eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds, and senior Jazmine Jones scored nine points with seven rebounds.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn matched its record-high for points in a quarter in an SEC game, outscoring the Gators 30-4 in the final period; Florida made its last field goal with 8:19 to play. From the point where Auburn trailed 18-2 in the first quarter, the Tigers outscored Florida 82-37 over the final 33 minutes.

Noteworthy

A WIN OVER TENNESSEE WOULD...
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Give Auburn consecutive wins over Tennessee for the first time since 2009 and just the fourth time ever.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Extend Auburn's winning streak to eight straight games.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Auburn's first win in Knoxville since 1988.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Improve Auburn to 2-0 in the SEC for the first time since 2010-11.

AUBURN vs. TENNESSEE
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Tennessee leads the series with Auburn 41-11, including a 20-2 edge in games played in Knoxville.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn snapped a 9-game skid to the Lady Vols last season in Auburn with a 79-61 win on Jan. 19.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º UT has won 17 straight in Knoxville, dating back to 1988.

LAST MEETING (Jan. 19, 2017 in Auburn):
AUBURN 79, TENNESSEE 61
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Sophomore Janiah McKay scored a career-high 29 points to lead Auburn to its first win over Tennessee since 2009, a 79-61 victory at Auburn Arena.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º For the second straight game and third time this season, Auburn found itself down by 17 points, this time in the first quarter as the Lady Vols opened the game on a 25-8 run. But for the second straight game and third time this season, the Tigers overcame that deficit -- and this time it only took one quarter. A 3-pointer from Katie Frerking at the halftime buzzer gave Auburn a 38-36 lead, and the Tigers would never trail again, increasing their lead to as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º McKay's 29 points were one more than her previous high, a 28-point effort against Virginia Tech on Dec. 18. She was a perfect 3-for-3 on 3-pointers and was 11-for-21 from the field, season-highs in all categories. Frerking added 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting and pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds. Auburn's defense paced the comeback, forcing the Lady Vols into 22 turnovers that turned into 33 Auburn points -- all but one turnover coming in the final three quarters. Jessica Jones and Erica Sanders led Auburn with four steals apiece, and Sanders added a career-high five assists.

SCOUTING TENNESSEE
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Tennessee is 13-0 overall, 1-0 in the SEC, and ranked No. 7 in both national polls.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Lady Vols average 86.4 points/game, second-best in the SEC, and hold opponents to 60.9 points. UT is the top rebounding team in the league, averaging 49.9/game and out-rebounding opponents by 12.7/game.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior Jamie Nared leads Tennessee and is 7th in the SEC in both scoring (17.4 ppg) and rebounding (9.0 rpg). Three UT players average more than 8 rebounds/game.

SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 10-3 on the season, 1-0 SEC, coming off an 84-55 win over Florida to open SEC play Sunday.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers are scoring 65.5 points per game while holding opponents to an SEC-best 51.5. Auburn's scoring defense ranks 4th nationally.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Junior point guard Janiah McKay has scored in double-figures in 12 of the Tigers' 13 games, including matching a career-high with 29 vs. Louisiana Tech. She also leads the SEC in steals (3.2/game) and is third in assists (5.0/game).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Freshman Unique Thompson has been a breakout star, twice earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors while averaging 11.3 points and 9.2 rebounds. She has four double-doubles on the season, including three straight vs. ULL, Southern and Southeastern La.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior forward Jazmine Jones is averaging 6.2 points/game, including 9.8 over her last four starts. She had 9 points and a season-high 7 rebounds vs. Florida.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Junior Emari Jones earned her first career start vs. North Carolina A&T on Nov. 16 and has remained in the lineup ever since. She scored a career-high 18 points vs. Florida and is averaging 5.4 points and 3.6 rebounds.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Sophomore Daisa Alexander has been another breakout star, averaging 12.9 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.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn has forced at least 20 turnovers in all 12 games this season and has forced 25 or more seven times (29 vs. LA Tech; 25 vs. Northwestern, 35 vs. ULM; 26 vs. Southern; 31 vs. SE Louisiana; 30 vs. XULA; 28 vs. Florida).

WE'RE GOING STREAKING
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn enters Thursday's game on a seven-game winning streak, its longest since 2012-13 and the second-longest of the Terri Williams-Flournoy era.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º All seven of those wins - and all 10 Auburn wins this season - have been by double-digits. Auburn's average margin of victory during the winning streak is 21.3 points.

Looking Ahead

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers return home on Sunday, Jan. 7, to face No. 19 Texas A&M. Game time is 2 p.m. CT at Auburn Arena with the broadcast on SEC Network +.