True Blue: Auburn women host LSU Thursday night

Feb. 7, 2018

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" It will be the annual "True Blue" game at Auburn Arena as the Auburn women's basketball team begins a three-game homestand by hosting LSU at 6 p.m. Thursday.

All fans are encouraged to wear blue, and blue shakers and rally towels will be available while supplies last. In addition, all kids 12 and under wearing a youth sports jersey will receive free general admission.

Thursday's game will also be the second "T.O.E. Talk" of the season. Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy and assistant coach Adrian Walters will break down the Tigers' game plan in the Courtside Lounge beginning at 5 p.m. All fans are welcome to attend, and light refreshments will be served.

Auburn, who owns an 8-2 home record this season, is looking forward to three straight home games after playing four of its last five on the road. The Tigers seek to bounce back after a hot-shooting Texas A&M team had one of its best performances of the season in a 78-59 Aggie win in College Station on Sunday.

A bit of revenge may be on Auburn's mind as well, given the heartbreaking loss suffered in Baton Rouge last month. Auburn had an 11-point lead in the third quarter before seeing LSU rally in the final minutes for a 59-56 win on Jan. 18. Daisa Alexander and Abigayle Jackson made their first career starts in that game and have remained in the lineup ever since.

LSU enters Sunday's game winners of three straight and five of their last six. The Lady Tigers have beaten No. 10 Tennessee, No. 17 Georgia and Kentucky during their recent three-game winning streak.

Andy Burcham, Larry DiChiara and Jay Douglass will have the radio call on WTGZ 93.9 FM beginning at 5:45 p.m.; fans can also listen online at AuburnTigers.com or via TuneIn Radio. SEC Network will carry the TV broadcast with Melissa Lee and Amanda Butler on the call.

Promotions

- True Blue - All fans encouraged to wear BLUE! Blue shakers & rally towels available while supplies last.
- National Girls & Women in Sports - All kids 12 and under receive FREE general admission wearing a youth sports jersey
- T.O.E. Talk - Pregame "chalk talk" in the Courtside Lounge beginning at 5 p.m. All fans welcome; refreshments will be served.
- Dean's Challenge - College of Education, School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences, School of Nursing
- Halftime - Unicycles; Little Tiger Slam Jam

Auburn Quick Hitters

- This is the 54th meeting between Auburn and LSU in women's basketball in a series that dates back to 1980
- Auburn owns a 31-22 advantage in the series and has won two of the last three meetings
- This is the second meeting this season; LSU won 59-56 in Baton Rouge on Jan. 18
- Auburn is 14-9 against LSU in Auburn and 2-2 at Auburn Arena
- Auburn rallied from a late deficit for a 54-49 win last season in the teams' last meeting at Auburn Arena
- Auburn ranks in the top 5 nationally in steals per game (2nd - 13.7) and turnovers forced per game (5th - 23.5)
- Auburn leads the SEC in steals (13.7/game) and has three of the top 13 players in the league in steals: Janiah McKay (1st - 2.7), Daisa Alexander (2nd - 2.6); Jazmine Jones (13th - 1.7)
- 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 18 of 22 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 22 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 fifth in SEC in assists (4.5) and leads SEC in steals (2.7)
- 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

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Freshman Abigayle Jackson scored a career-high 13 points, but Auburn could not overcome a hot-shooting Texas A&M team as the 14th-ranked Aggies earned a 78-59 victory Sunday at Reed Arena.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers (11-11, 2-8 SEC) ran into a buzzsaw of an offense from Texas A&M (18-6, 7-3), who shot 56.0 percent for the game.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Janiah McKay led the Tigers with 16 points and five assists, and Jackson scored 13 and shared the team lead with four rebounds. Emari Jones added nine points with three 3-pointers, and Jazmine Jones had eight points and four rebounds.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Texas A&M was on fire from the floor in the early going, shooting 62.1 percent in the first half ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 81.8 percent in the second quarter alone ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" to pull ahead to a 43-25 halftime lead. Auburn was unable to force turnovers early ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" just two in the first quarter ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" as the Aggies could hardly miss in the first 20 minutes.

Noteworthy

A WIN OVER LSU WOULD...
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Coach Flo's 100th win at Auburn.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Avenge a three-point loss from earlier this season.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Auburn's third win over LSU in their last four meetings.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Improve Auburn to 9-2 at home this year.

AUBURN vs. LSU
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn leads the all-time series with LSU 31-22, including a 14-9 lead at home. Auburn has won two of the last three meetings.

LAST MEETING (Jan. 18, 2018, in Baton Rouge):
LSU 59, AUBURN 56
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.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn (10-8, 1-5 SEC) 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.

SCOUTING LSU
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º LSU is on a roll, winning three straight and five of their last six coming into Thursday night. The Lady Tigers have a pair of ranked wins over No. 10 Tennessee and No. 17 Georgia in their last three games.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Lady Tigers average 65.3 point/game while holding opponents to 59.0. LSU's stats mirror Auburn's in many ways, including 3-point shooting, offensive rebounds and steals.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Chloe Jackson is LSU's top scorer with 17.6 points/game; 6th-best in the SEC. She averages 20.5 ppg in SEC play, third-best in the league. Ayana Mitchell averages 7.9 rebounds/game but has stepped that up to 10.9/game in SEC play.

SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 11-11 on the season, 2-8 SEC, and dropped a 78-59 contest at No. 14 Texas A&M Sunday.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers are scoring 62.9 points per game while holding opponents to 58.3/game, third-best in the SEC.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Junior point guard Janiah McKay has scored in double-figures in 20 of the Tigers' 22 games, including matching a career-high with 29 vs. Louisiana Tech. She also leads the SEC in steals (2.7/game) and is fifth 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 11.1 points and 8.9 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).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior forward Jazmine Jones is averaging 5.7 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 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.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn has forced at least 20 turnovers in 19 of 22 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).

Looking Ahead

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers stay home for a rare Monday night game when Auburn plays host to Vanderbilt at 6 p.m. Feb. 12.