Senior Day: Tigers close regular season vs. Ole Miss

Feb. 23, 2018

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The regular season concludes for the Auburn women's basketball team Sunday when the Tigers host Ole Miss. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Auburn Arena.

It will be Senior Day for five players and one senior manager. Bria Johnson, Jazmine Jones, Jessica Jones, Tiffany Lewis and Sira Toure, along with senior manager Darryl Cotton, will be recognized in a post-game ceremony.

A special ticket package is available for the Paint and Women's Basketball event, which begins at 11:30 a.m. Spirited Art Auburn will be on hand to do a pre-game paint party where all ages are welcome to come paint a pre-sketched Aubie on canvas. Visit AUBTix.com for more information or to purchase the ticket package.

Sunday will also be the final "T.O.E. Talk" of the season as associate head coach Ty Evans will break down the Tigers' game plan beginning at noon in the Courtside Lounge. Light refreshments will be available, and all fans are welcome to attend.

Auburn enters the final day of the regular season in 10th place in the SEC standings. A win would ensure the Tigers would be the No. 10 seed in next week's SEC Tournament and play at 6 p.m. Thursday. A loss, coupled with an Arkansas win over Vanderbilt, would drop the Tigers to the No. 11 spot, forcing Auburn to face Ole Miss for the second time in four days on Wednesday afternoon. The tournament runs Wednesday-Sunday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

The Tigers and Rebels will be meeting for the 60th time Sunday afternoon. Auburn owns a 34-25 advantage in the series, including a 17-8 edge at home. The teams split two meetings last season with each squad winning on their home court.

Andy Burcham, Larry DiChiara and J.J. Jackson will have the radio call on WTGZ 93.9 FM beginning at 12:45 p.m.; fans can also listen online at AuburnTigers.com or via TuneIn Radio. SEC Network will have the telecast with Jenn Hildreth and Steffi Sorensen calling the action.

Promotions

- Senior Day - Auburn's five senior players and one senior manager will be honored following the game.
- Paint/Ticket Package - Spirited Art Auburn presents a pregame paint party at 11:30 a.m.; ticket package includes paint, supplies and snacks -- Click Here
- T.O.E. Talk - Pregame chalk talk at noon in the Courtside Lounge with associate head coach Ty Evans
- Dean's Challenge Finale - Winners of the season-long contest announced

Auburn Quick Hitters

- This is the 60th meeting between Auburn and Ole Miss in women's basketball
- Auburn leads the series 34-25, including a 17-8 advantage at home
- Auburn has won 7 of the last 10 meetings in the series
- The teams split two meetings last year: Auburn won 83-60 at home and lost 63-59 on the road
- Auburn's 10 home wins are the second-most regular-season home victories since moving into Auburn Arena
- A win Sunday would secure a winning SEC record at home for the third time in six years
- Auburn would secure the 10th seed in the SEC Tournament with a win today
- Five seniors will experience their final home game today: Bria Johnson, Jazmine Jones, Jessica Jones, Tiffany Lewis and Sira Toure
- Auburn is the only team in the SEC that has played six of the league's top seven teams on the road
- Auburn ranks in the top 5 nationally in steals per game (2nd - 13.1) and turnovers forced per game (5th - 22.8)
- Auburn leads the SEC in steals (13.1/game) and has the league's top two individuals in steals: Daisa Alexander (1st - 2.6/game) and Janiah McKay (2nd - 2.4/game)
- Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy earned her 100th Auburn victory vs. LSU on Feb. 8
- Coach Flo is 101-90 in six seasons at Auburn and 244-194 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)
- Thompson has tied the Auburn freshman record with 7 double-doubles this season: LA Tech (16/14), ULL (29/12), Southern (18/10), SE Louisiana (10/11), Arkansas (14/13), Alabama (14/11), Mississippi State (12/10)
- McKay is Auburn's top scorer with 16.4 points/game; she also leads team and ranks fifth in SEC in assists (4.3) and is second in SEC in steals (2.4)
- McKay has scored 25+ points in six games this year and 11 times in her career
- 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
- 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 13.9 points/game; she has scored in double-figures in 23 of 27 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 22 of 27 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)
- 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)

Last Time Out

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Janiah McKay scored 25 points, but the Auburn women's basketball team came up short in an 82-61 loss to No. 2 Mississippi State on Thursday night at Humphrey Coliseum.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers fought valiantly against the nation's second-ranked team, making one more field goal than MSU. But the Bulldogs made 21-of-23 free-throw attempts and knocked down nine 3-pointers to fend off the Tigers.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º McKay's 25-point night marked her sixth game of the season with 25 or more. She had 18 in the first half and was the key to Auburn's offense on a night when the Tigers shot 45 percent from the field. She also had all four of Auburn's assists on the night.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Thompson tied the Auburn freshman record with her seventh double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds. She matches Le'Coe Willingham's double-double total from her freshman season. Daisa Alexander added 14 points.

Noteworthy

SEC TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn will be the No. 10 seed and play the No. 7 seed at 6 p.m. CT Thursday if:
--The Tigers beat Ole Miss --OR--
--Arkansas loses to Vanderbilt
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn will be the No. 11 seed and play Ole Miss at 1:30 p.m. CT Wednesday if:
--The Tigers lose to Ole Miss --AND--
--Arkansas beats Vanderbilt

A WIN OVER OLE MISS WOULD...
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Auburn's 11th home win of the year.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Secure a winning record at home in SEC play (5-3).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Secure the 10th seed in the SEC Tournament.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Ensure a .500 regular-season record with Auburn's 14th win.

AUBURN vs. OLE MISS
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn leads the all-time series with Mississippi 34-25. The Tigers have won seven of the last 10 meetings between the teams.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The teams split two meetings last season with each winning at home.

LAST MEETING (Feb.16, 2017, in Oxford):
OLE MISS 63, AUBURN 59
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Brandy Montgomery scored 19 points, but Auburn's comeback bid fell short at Ole Miss in a 63-59 loss.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers trailed by as many as nine midway through the fourth quarter but cut the deficit to two points in the final minute. But Auburn missed six free throws in the fourth quarter and nine in the game, and could not complete the comeback.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Montgomery, who scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, was Auburn's only player in double figures. Katie Frerking, Tiffany Lewis and Jessica Jones had nine points each. Lewis made her first start at Auburn.

SCOUTING OLE MISS
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Ole Miss is 11-17 overall, 1-14 in SEC play. The Rebels have been without preseason All-SEC selection Shandricka Sessom for much of the season due to injury.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Rebels average 67.1 points/game while giving up 70.4/game. They are third in the league in blocked shots, averaging 4.5/game.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Madinah Muhammad is the Rebels' leading scorer with 16.9 points/game; that ranks ninth in the SEC. Freshman Promise Taylor shoots 60.8% from the field - second-best in the SEC - and is third in the league with 2.6 blocks/game.

SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 13-14 on the season, 4-11 SEC, and currently 10th in the SEC standings.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers are scoring 62.6 points per game while holding opponents to 59.8/game, second-best in the SEC. Auburn leads the SEC in steals (13.1/game) and turnovers forced (22.8/game).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Junior point guard Janiah McKay has scored in double-figures in 24 of the Tigers' 27 games, including matching a career-high with 29 vs. Louisiana Tech. She is second in the SEC in steals (2.4/game) and fifth in assists (4.4/game).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Freshman Unique Thompson has been a breakout star, twice earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors while averaging 11.7 points and 8.6 rebounds. She is fourth among SEC freshmen in scoring and first in rebounding. She has seven 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 13.9 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 2.6 steals/game.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn has forced at least 20 turnovers in 21 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 22.3 points per game off opponent turnovers.

Looking Ahead

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn will play in the 2018 SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. Date, time and opponent are yet to be determined.