AUBURN, Ala. – After an 11-day break following the Preseason WNIT, the Auburn women's basketball team is back in action Sunday as the Tigers host Louisiana-Lafayette. Game time is 2 p.m. CT at Auburn Arena.
Sunday is the annual Food Drive game for Auburn women's basketball – fans that bring two non-perishable food items receive a free general admission ticket. Sunday's game is also Auburn Global/International Student Day.
The Tigers (3-1) will be playing their first game in 12 days and their home game in more than two weeks. After playing three games in three states in five days in the Preseason WNIT, Auburn has not played since Nov. 13, when the Tigers fell at Iowa State 67-64.
Auburn has gotten balanced offense so far this year as all five starters are averaging double-figure scoring. Senior Janiah McKay leads the way with 15.8 points/game, and sophomore Unique Thompson is scoring 14.5 points and pulling down 14.0 rebounds per game; she has three double-doubles in four games.
Louisiana-Lafayette (2-2) is coming off a 68-61 win over Jackson State on Monday. The Ragin' Cajuns are led by Ty'Reona Doucet, who is averaging 20.5 points and 15.0 rebounds per game.
Andy Burcham and Larry DiChiara have the radio call beginning at 1:45 p.m. CT on WTGZ 93.9 FM and online at AuburnTigers.com. Fans can also watch on SEC Network +, available via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app on mobile devices.
PROMOTIONS
• Food Drive – Free admission for fans that bring two non-perishable food items
• Auburn Global/International Student Day
• Schedule magnet/poster/shaker giveaway
QUICK HITS
• Auburn is facing Louisiana-Lafayette for the third time; the Tigers are 2-0 in two previous meetings
• Unique Thompson scored a career-high 29 points in the Tigers' 70-60 win in Lafayette last season
• This is the eighth consecutive home non-conference game for Auburn against a school from Louisiana, dating back to last season
• Auburn is 93-13 against current members of the Sun Belt Conference
• The Tigers are playing their first game in 12 days after a whirlwind 3-games-in-5-days stretch in the preseason WNIT
• The Tigers scored at least 80 points in each of their first two games; Auburn scored 80 points just twice all last season
• The Tigers scored 97 points against Grambling (11/6), the most of the Coach Flo era and the highest total since scoring 119 vs. Sam Houston State in 2008
• Under Coach Flo, Auburn is 4-0 when scoring at least 90 points and 25-1 when scoring at least 80 points
• Six Auburn players scored in double-figures vs. Grambling; the first time Auburn has done that since 2008 vs. Sam Houston State
• Janiah McKay (16 pts/10 assists) and Unique Thompson (14 pts/13 rebs) both had double-doubles in the season-opening win over Grambling; Thompson now has 8 double-doubles in 29 career games
• McKay moved up to 21st all-time in scoring at Auburn with 14 points at Iowa State; she now has 1,262 points
• McKay leads Auburn in scoring through three games with 15.8 ppg; she also averages 6.5 assists
• Thompson's 19-point, 14-rebound double-double at Iowa State was her 3rd of the season and 9th of her career
• Thompson's 19 rebounds at New Mexico were a career-high and the most by an Auburn player since 2015
• Auburn is 70-30 in non-conference games under Terri Williams-Flournoy and has won 15 out of their last 16 at home
• The Tigers have won nine consecutive home non-conference games dating back to the 2016-17 season
• Auburn is 138-40 all-time in the month of November; Coach Flo is 30-13 in November at Auburn
LAST TIME OUT
›› A furious comeback by the Auburn women's basketball team fell just short Tuesday night as the Tigers dropped a 67-64 battle at Iowa State in the Preseason WNIT semifinal.
›› Trailing by 10 with less than two minutes to play, senior Janiah McKay made three straight 3-pointers in less than a minute - the last coming with 41 seconds left - to tie the game at 64-all. But the Tigers were unable to get a shot away in their final two possessions, and a Cyclone layup with 9 seconds to play was the difference.
›› Sophomore Unique Thompson had her second straight double-double and third of the season with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Emari Jones matched a season-high with 15 points, and McKay's late flurry gave her a 14-point night.
›› Thompson dominated both ends of the floor in the first half, racking up 16 points and 10 rebounds by halftime. Meanwhile, Iowa State started cold, shooting 18 percent in the first quarter and 28 percent in the first half as the Tigers were able to build an early lead. Auburn led by as many as 15 late in the second quarter before the Cyclones cut the lead to nine at the break, 38-29.
›› Auburn shot 41.1% for the game, but just 31% in the second half. Meanwhile, Iowa State shot 47% in the second half, including 40% on 3-pointers. The Cyclones won the rebounding battle 42-36, including 16 offensive rebounds which turned into 14 second-chance points. Auburn turned the ball over 16 times to Iowa State's 15; both teams scored 19 points off the other's turnovers.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Be the Tigers' 10th straight home non-conference win.
›› Be Auburn's 10th non-conference win in its last 11 games.
›› Give Coach Flo her 500th win as a collegiate coach (251 as an assistant; 249 as a head coach).
TIGERS-CAJUNS SERIES
›› This is the third meeting all-time between Auburn and Louisiana-Lafayette. The Tigers have won both prior meetings.
›› Auburn is 93-13 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt Conference. This is the first of two contests against Sun Belt members this season; the Tigers will face Coastal Carolina on Dec. 18.
LAST MEETING:
Auburn 70, UL-Lafayette 60 (Dec. 8, 2017)
›› Freshman Unique Thompson scored a career-high 29 points along with 12 rebounds, and Auburn held off a scrappy Louisiana-Lafayette team for a 70-60 win at the Cajundome.
›› The Tigers saw the Ragin' Cajuns get hot from outside early, and turnovers were not as easy to come by as usual, but a scoring burst from Thompson in the fourth quarter helped Auburn pull away late.
›› Thompson's 29 points and 12 rebounds were her second double-double of the season. She had 15 points in the fourth quarter alone. For the night, she was 11-of-13 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Nine of her 12 rebounds came on the offensive glass.
›› Janiah McKay and Daisa Alexander had 10 points apiece, and McKay added nine assists. Auburn shot a season-high 51.9% from the field, including 61.5% in the fourth quarter. The Tigers had 34 points in the paint to ULL's 20, and 15 second-chance points off 10 offensive rebounds.
SCOUTING THE CAJUNS
›› Louisiana-Lafayette is 2-2 on the year. Their last time out, the Ragin' Cajuns defeated Jackson State 68-61.
›› The Cajuns defeated McNeese State 70-59 for their other victory on the year but have losses to Lamar and Dillard.
›› Ty'Ronna Doucet leads the Cajuns in most statistical categories, including scoring (20.5 ppg), rebounding (15.0 rpg) and field goal percentage (69.0%).
›› Through four games, the Cajuns are averaging 71.0 points while giving up 67.8 and shooting 42.2% from the floor.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 3-1 on the season after advancing to the semifinals of the preseason WNIT. The Tigers have wins over Grambling State, Nicholls State and New Mexico while dropping a 3-point game at Iowa State.
›› Senior point guard Janiah McKay leads the Tigers in scoring with 15.8 points/game; she also leads the SEC with 6.5 assists/game. McKay is the Tigers' leading returning scorer for the second straight season after averaging 16.6 ppg last season. McKay ranks 21st in career scoring at Auburn with 1,262 points.
›› Sophomore forward Unique Thompson is a force under the basket and has been key to Auburn's success early this year. She has three double-doubles in four games and is averaging 14.5 points and 14.0 rebounds. As a freshman last season, she averaged 11.5 ppg and 8.4 rpg with 7 double-doubles, tying the Auburn freshman record.
›› Junior Daisa Alexander had a breakout sophomore season where she scored 14.2 points/game and led the SEC with 2.8 steals/game, earning a nod to the SEC All-Defensive Team. So far this season, Alexander is averaging 12.8 points/game.
›› Senior Emari Jones has been one of Auburn's most consistent scorers so far in 2018-19, averaging 12.0 points/game and scoring in double-figures in three of four games so far. In 2017-18, she started 16 games and averaged 5.0 points. She transferred to Auburn prior to the 2016-17 season after a year at Shawnee CC in Ullin, Ill., where she was the nation's leading junior college scorer with 746 points in 2015-16.
›› Redshirt junior Crystal Primm has given Auburn consistent minutes through her first four games on The Plains, averaging 10.0 points and 3.8 rebounds. Primm transferred from Duke following the 2016-17 season.
›› The Tigers' incoming freshman class was ranked No. 13 by ESPN HoopGurlz and included two top-50 prospects in Robyn Benton (#17 overall; #6 guard) and Brooke Moore (#42 overall; #11 guard).
UP NEXT
›› Auburn will make its second road trip of the year - this one regularly scheduled - traveling to NAIA side Xavier University of Louisiana on Wednesday, Nov. 28. Game time is 6 p.m. CT at the XULA Convocation Center in New Orleans.
Women's hoops back in action Sunday vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
