Auburn women face road test at No. 14 Texas A&M

Feb. 3, 2018

AUBURN, Ala. -- For the third time in four years, Auburn women's basketball will spend its Super Bowl Sunday in College Station, Texas, as the Tigers get ready to face No. 14 Texas A&M at 3 p.m. Sunday.

The Tigers are at the back end of a stretch where four of five games have been on the road. After a tough loss at Kentucky Thursday night, Auburn looks to bounce back with a strong performance in the Lone Star State.

Auburn's last trip to College Station - on Super Bowl Sunday last year - was its best outing against the Aggies on the road since Texas A&M joined the SEC. A 32-point effort from Katie Frerking kept Auburn in the game, but A&M won it at the free-throw line in a 66-61 Aggie victory at Reed Arena.

The teams met once already this year with Auburn falling short 82-73 in a hard-fought contest at Auburn Arena. Janiah McKay had 25 points and Unique Thompson added 22 in a game where the Tigers set a school record going a perfect 16-for-16 from the free-throw line.

Texas A&M has climbed to No. 14 in the Associated Press poll and No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Aggies enter Sunday's game having won three of their last four; in their last outing, A&M dropped an 82-67 decision on the road at Tennessee.

Andy Burcham and Brit Bowen will call the action on the radio on WTGZ 93.9 FM with the pregame show beginning at 2:45 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 Nell Fortner 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 11th meeting between Auburn and Texas A&M, the 9th since A&M joined the SEC in 2012
- Texas A&M has won all 10 previous meetings
- This is the second meeting this season; Texas A&M won 82-73 in Auburn on Jan. 7
- Auburn is 0-4 all-time in College Station
- This is the third time in four years for Auburn to play at Texas A&M on Super Bowl Sunday
- Auburn is 11-12 all-time on Super Bowl Sunday; 7-10 on the road
- Auburn ranks in the top 5 nationally in steals per game (2nd - 14.3) and turnovers forced per game (5th - 23.7)
- Auburn leads the SEC in steals (13.9/game) and has three of the top 11 players in the league in steals: Janiah McKay (1st - 2.8), Daisa Alexander (2nd - 2.7); Jazmine Jones (11th - 1.8)
- 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
- Sophomore Daisa Alexander and freshman Abigayle Jackson made their first career starts at LSU (1/18)
- Alexander's 7 steals vs. LSU were the most by an Auburn player this season
- Alexander is second on the team with 14.0 points/game; she has scored in double-figures in 18 of 21 games
- Alexander had a career-high 6 assists vs. Texas A&M (1/7)
- 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 19 of 21 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 16.3 points/game; she also leads team and ranks sixth in SEC in assists (4.4) and leads SEC in steals (2.8)
- 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
- McKay scored her 1,000th career point vs. Arkansas, becoming the 33rd player in Auburn history to hit that plateau
- 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 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 double-doubles as a freshman (Le'Coe Willingham, 7)

Last Time Out

>> Unique Thompson led three Auburn players in double figures, but a big Kentucky run to start the fourth quarter led the Wildcats to a 65-48 win Thursday night at Memorial Coliseum.
>> The Tigers (11-10, 2-7 SEC) jumped out to an early lead and briefly led again in the third quarter, but turnovers and rebounding proved to be the difference as Kentucky (12-11, 4-6) won its third straight game.
>> Thompson had 12 points to lead the Tigers, hitting 6-of-9 attempts from the field. Janiah McKay added 11 points, and Daisa Alexander had 10.
>> Auburn had a higher shooting percentage -- both teams made 20 shots, but Auburn missed one fewer than Kentucky -- and the Tigers lost for the first time this year when shooting at least 40 percent from the field. But turnovers were a killer for the Tigers as the Wildcats scored 32 points off 25 Auburn giveaways.

Noteworthy

A WIN OVER TEXAS A&M WOULD...
>> Be Coach Flo's 100th win at Auburn.
>> Be Auburn's first win against Texas A&M.
>> Be Auburn's first win over a ranked opponent since 2/14/16 vs. No. 16 Florida.
>> Be Auburn's first win over a ranked opponent on the road since 2/13/14 at No. 16 Vanderbilt.

AUBURN vs. TEXAS A&M
>> Texas A&M is 10-0 all-time against Auburn, including an 8-0 mark since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012. Auburn is 0-4 in College Station.

LAST MEETING (Jan. 7, 2018, in Auburn):
TEXAS A&M 82, AUBURN 73
>> Auburn got 25 points from Janiah McKay and 22 from Unique Thompson, but No. 19 Texas A&M had one of its best shooting games of the season in an 82-73 Aggie win at Auburn Arena.
>> The Tigers (10-5, 1-2 SEC) dropped their second straight SEC game to a nationally ranked foe as Texas A&M (13-4, 2-1) handed Auburn its first home loss of the year.
>> Auburn set a new school record at the free-throw line for most makes without a miss, hitting 16-of-16 attempts in the game.
>> McKay also tied a school record at the charity stripe, hitting 11-of-11 attempts to become the fourth player in Auburn history with that line. She finished the game with 25 points and matched a season-high with nine assists.

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
>> Texas A&M is 17-6 overall, 6-3 in SEC play. The Aggies are ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll and No. 12 in the Coaches Poll. In their last game, A&M fell at Tennessee, 82-67.
>> The Aggies average 76.8 points per game while holding opponents to 67.7. All five Aggie starters average more than 30 minutes of playing time per game.
>> Freshman Chennedy Carter is the Aggies' leader in scoring (21.3 ppg), assists (4.7/game) and steals (2.0/game). Anriel Howard averages a double-double with 11.5 points and 12.1 rebounds; she's the SEC's second-leading rebounder.

SCOUTING AUBURN
>> Auburn is 11-10 on the season, 2-7 SEC, and dropped a 65-48 decision at Kentucky Thursday night.
>> The Tigers are scoring 63.1 points per game while holding opponents to 57.3/game, second-best in the SEC. Auburn's scoring defense ranks 37th nationally.
>> Junior point guard Janiah McKay has scored in double-figures in 19 of the Tigers' 21 games, including matching a career-high with 29 vs. Louisiana Tech. She also leads the SEC in steals (2.8/game) and is sixth in assists (4.4/game).
>> 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 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).
>> Senior forward Jazmine Jones is averaging 5.6 points/game. She had a season-high 9 rebounds vs. Texas A&M.
>> Sophomore Daisa Alexander has been another breakout star, averaging 14.0 points while coming off the bench in Auburn's first 17 games. 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, then scored 22 points at Georgia.
>> Auburn has forced at least 20 turnovers in 18 of 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).

SUPER BOWL NOTES
>> Auburn is 11-12 all-time on Super Bowl Sunday. This will be the 21st straight season the Tigers have played on the date of the big game.
>> The Tigers are 4-2 at home and 7-10 on the road on Super Bowl Sunday. This will be the seventh straight Super Bowl Sunday Auburn has played on the road.
>> This is the second straight year and third time in four years for Auburn to play at Texas A&M on Super Bowl Sunday. New England has been in the game all three times.
>> Auburn's most common opponent on Super Sunday is Mississippi State. The teams have met five times with the Bulldogs winning three.
>> Auburn is 1-0 when the Eagles play in the Super Bowl and 2-5 when the Patriots play.
>> When New England defeated Philadelphia 24-21 in Super Bowl XXXIX (Feb. 6, 2005), Auburn defeated South Carolina 56-46.
>> NFC teams are 7-4 when Auburn wins; AFC teams are 9-3 when Auburn loses on Super Sunday.

Looking Ahead

>> Auburn begins a three-game homestand Thursday night when LSU visits Auburn Arena. Game time is 6 p.m.