Auburn women head to Tuscaloosa seeking season sweep

Feb. 17, 2018

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn women's basketball team will be looking for a season sweep of its biggest rival Sunday afternoon when the Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama. Game time is 4 p.m. at Coleman Coliseum.

The Tigers (13-12, 4-9 SEC) earned a 69-60 victory over the Crimson Tide (16-10, 6-7) in the season's earlier meeting at Auburn Arena. In that game, the Tigers had five players score in double-figures - the first time for that to happen in four years - led by 18 points from Janiah McKay and a double-double from Unique Thompson.

Auburn enters Sunday's contest after a 2-1 stretch at home over the last two weeks. The Tigers picked up wins over LSU and Vanderbilt before dropping a tough defensive struggle to No. 13 Missouri on Thursday night.

Alabama is coming off one of its biggest wins in program history as the Crimson Tide defeated No. 11 Tennessee in Knoxville for the first time ever on Thursday. Alabama has won two straight entering Sunday's contest.

Andy Burcham and Jay Douglass will call the action on the radio on WTGZ 93.9 FM with the pregame show beginning at 3:45 p.m. CT; fans can also listen online at AuburnTigers.com and via TuneIn Radio. SEC Network will have the telecast with Melissa Lee and Amanda Butler on the call; fans can also watch via WatchESPN.com, SECNetwork.com or the ESPN app for mobile devices.

Auburn Quick Hitters

- This is the 88th meeting between Auburn and Alabama in women's basketball, the second-most played series in the Southeastern Conference (behind Ole Miss-Mississippi State)
- Auburn leads the series 50-37; Alabama owns a 22-17 edge in Tuscaloosa
- Auburn won the season's earlier meeting 69-60 in Auburn on Jan. 28
- Auburn has won five of the last six and eight of the last 10 against Alabama
- Auburn's 10 home wins are the second-most regular-season home victories since moving into Auburn Arena
- Auburn is the only team in the SEC that will have played six of the league's top seven teams on the road
- Auburn ranks in the top 5 nationally in steals per game (2nd - 13.6) and turnovers forced per game (5th - 23.2)
- Auburn leads the SEC in steals (13.6/game) and has the league's top two individuals in steals: Daisa Alexander (1st - 2.7/game) and Janiah McKay (2nd - 2.6/game)
- Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy earned her 100th Auburn victory vs. LSU on Feb. 8
- Coach Flo is 101-88 in six seasons at Auburn and 244-192 in 14 seasons as a head coach
- The Tigers are 6-1 this season and 51-7 under Coach Flo when scoring at least 70 points
- Janiah McKay and Unique Thompson each topped 20 points vs. LSU; second time this season for McKay and Thompson to both have 20 in a game (Texas A&M, 1/8)
- Sophomore Daisa Alexander and freshman Abigayle Jackson made their first career starts at LSU (1/18)
- Alexander's 7 steals at LSU were the most by an Auburn player this season
- Freshman Abigayle Jackson scored a career-high 13 points at Texas A&M (2/4)
- Auburn set a new school record by hitting 16-of-16 free throws in the first meeting with Texas A&M (1/7)
- From the end of the Tennessee game (1/4) into the third quarter of the South Carolina game (1/11), Auburn made 24 consecutive free throws
- Five players scored in double figures for Auburn vs. Alabama, the first time for that since 12/29/14 at FIU
- Alexander is second on the team with 13.6 points/game; she has scored in double-figures in 21 of 25 games
- The Tigers tied a school record for fewest turnovers with 5 vs. Florida on Dec. 31 while forcing the Gators into 28
- Auburn has forced at least 20 turnovers in 21 of 25 games this season and 25+ turnovers in nine games
- Auburn has won 25 of its last 28 games when forcing at least 25 turnovers (7-2 this season)
- Junior point guard Janiah McKay is Auburn's top scorer with 16.4 points/game; she also leads team and ranks fifth in SEC in assists (4.5) and is second in SEC in steals (2.6)
- McKay is the SEC's leading free-throw shooter at 85.0% (119-of-140)
- 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 scored 25+ points in three straight games (Texas A&M, South Carolina, Arkansas); she is the fourth Auburn player to accomplish that feat in the last 30 years
- 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 has 6 double-doubles this season: LA Tech (16/14), ULL (29/12), Southern (18/10), SE Louisiana (10/11), Arkansas (14/13), Alabama (14/11); only one Auburn player has had more as a freshman (Le'Coe Willingham, 7)

Last Time Out

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn held No. 13 Missouri to one of its lowest scoring outputs of the season but came up short in a 59-51 loss Thursday night at Auburn Arena.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn (13-12, 4-9 SEC) forced Missouri (21-5, 9-4) into a season-high 24 turnovers, had 22 offensive rebounds, took 29 more shots and held the SEC's top 3-point shooting team to just five treys. But a bad first quarter and a tough shooting night kept Auburn from pulling the upset.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Both teams made 21 field goals on the night. But Auburn attempted 76, shooting 27.6 percent from the field while Missouri was 44.7-percent on 47 attempts. Auburn also had one of its least effective nights at the free-throw line since early in the season, hitting just 6-of-14 attempts. Both teams also had 43 rebounds ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" tying for Auburn's most in SEC play ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" with 22 offensive boards for Auburn.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn found itself down 19-7 after one quarter, hitting just 3-of-21 attempts from the field and 1-of-10 from 3-point range. But Auburn started getting more high-percentage shots, steadily improving throughout the rest of the game and limiting their 3-point attempts. The result was outscoring Missouri 44-40 over the final three periods.

Noteworthy

A WIN OVER ALABAMA WOULD...
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Give Auburn a season sweep of the Crimson Tide for the second time in three years.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Auburn's first road win in SEC play.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Auburn's sixth win over Alabama in their last seven meetings.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Ensure a .500 regular-season record with Auburn's 14th win.

AUBURN vs. ALABAMA
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn leads the all-time series with Alabama 50-37. Alabama owns a 22-17 advantage at home; the series moved back to Coleman Coliseum last season after five seasons at Foster Auditorium.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn has won 5 of the last 6 and 8 of the last 10 meetings in the series, dating back to 2013. The Tigers have won 3 of the last 4 in Tuscaloosa.

LAST MEETING (Jan. 28, 2018, in Auburn):
AUBURN 69, ALABAMA 60
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Junior Janiah McKay led five Auburn players in double-figures as the Tigers defeated Alabama, 69-60, before a season-high 3,357 fans at Auburn Arena.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers overcame a slow start to pull ahead of Alabama midway through the second quarter and never looked back, forcing the Crimson Tide into 25 turnovers that turned into 29 Auburn points.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º McKay's 18 points led all scorers; she also had a game-high five assists along with four rebounds and two steals. Freshman Unique Thompson recorded her sixth double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Sophomore Daisa Alexander scored 12 points, and junior Emari Jones and senior Tiffany Lewis added 10 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench -- just one game after the Tigers' bench was held scoreless at Georgia. It was the first time for Auburn to have five players in double-figures since the 2014-15 season at Florida International.

SCOUTING ALABAMA
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Alabama is currently in eighth place in the SEC at 6-7 in league play after a historic victory at No. 11 Tennessee Thursday night.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tide average 68.2 points/game while giving up 62.3. In SEC play, Alabama scores 66.1 points/game and gives up 69.9.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Hannah Cook is Alabama's leading scorer with 11.2 points/game. Ashley Williams averages a team-best 6.4 rebounds. Six players average at least 6.0 points per game for the Tide.

SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 13-12 on the season, 4-9 SEC, and went 2-1 on a recent 3-game home stand, defeating LSU and Vanderbilt while falling to No. 13 Missouri.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers are scoring 62.7 points per game while holding opponents to 58.5/game, second-best in the SEC. Auburn leads the SEC in steals (13.6/game) and turnovers forced (23.2/game).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Junior point guard Janiah McKay has scored in double-figures in 23 of the Tigers' 25 games, including matching a career-high with 29 vs. Louisiana Tech. She is second in the SEC in steals (2.6/game), first in free-throw percentage (85.0%) and seventh in assists (4.5/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 8.8 rebounds. She is fourth among SEC freshmen in scoring and first in rebounding. She has six 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 5.5 points/game. She had a season-high 9 rebounds in the first meeting with Texas A&M.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Sophomore Daisa Alexander has been another breakout star, averaging 13.6 points. She came off the bench for Auburn's first 17 games. She made her first career start at LSU on Jan. 18, scoring 20 points and notching a career-high 7 steals, then scored 22 points at Georgia. Alexander leads the SEC with 2.7 steals/game.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn has forced at least 20 turnovers in 21 of 25 games this season and has forced 25 or more nine 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; 25 vs. Alabama). The Tigers average 22.5 points per game off opponent turnovers.

Looking Ahead

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers play their final road game of the regular season against the nation's No. 2 team. Auburn faces Mississippi State in Starkville at 7 p.m. Thursday.