AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team travels to New Orleans this week to face Xavier University of Louisiana on Wednesday night. Game time is 6 p.m. CT at the XULA Convocation Center.
Auburn (4-1) is coming off a 71-59 win over Louisiana-Lafayette at home Sunday afternoon. Sophomore Unique Thompson picked up her third straight double-double and fourth in five games this season with a 16-point, 13-rebound performance, and senior Emari Jones was just two points shy of her first double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.
Through five games, Thompson and senior Janiah McKay find themselves at the top of the charts in a pair of statistical categories in the SEC. Thompson is the league's leading rebounder – and ranks sixth in the country – with 13.8 rebounds per game. McKay leads the SEC with 6.4 assists per game. Both are in the league's top 15 in scoring and top 10 in steals.
Xavier (7-3) is coming off a pair of wins in a tournament last week at the University of the Virgin Islands. The Gold Nuggets defeated UVI 61-51 and Carlow 61-45. Xavier is 4-0 at home so far this season. Four of Xavier's next five games are against NCAA Division I opponents – the Gold Nuggets host Auburn and North Texas and travel to Southeastern Louisiana and Louisiana-Lafayette in the next three weeks.
The two teams met last year in Auburn Arena with the Tigers claiming a 70-44 win on Dec. 28.
Andy Burcham will be courtside with Brit Bowen in studio for the radio call on WQSI 95.9 FM with airtime at 5:45 p.m. CT; the broadcast is also available at AuburnTigers.com. A live video stream will be available via YouTube; check AuburnTigers.com for the link.
QUICK HITS
• Auburn was No. 18 in the initial NCAA RPI release on Nov. 26
• Auburn is facing Xavier (La.) for the second time; the Tigers won 70-44 last year in Auburn
• Of Auburn's last 11 non-conference games, nine have come against schools from Louisiana
• Auburn is 18-12 in regular-season games against current NAIA schools; 24 of those 30 games came prior to 1980
• Wednesday's game counts toward regular-season record and statistics for Auburn, but Xavier is counting the game as an exhibition
• Sophomore Unique Thompson has recorded four double-doubles in five games, including three straight
• With 13.8 rebounds per game, Thompson leads the SEC and ranks sixth in the nation
• Thompson's 10.0 defensive rebounds per game rank first in the SEC and fourth nationally
• Thompson now has 11 career double-doubles, tied for 14th in Auburn history
• 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
• Under Coach Flo, Auburn is 4-0 when scoring at least 90 points and 25-1 when scoring at least 80 points
• Janiah McKay moved up to 20th all-time in scoring at Auburn with 13 points vs. UL-Lafayette; she now has 1,275 points
• McKay leads Auburn in scoring through five games with 15.2 ppg; she also averages an SEC-leading 6.4 assists
• Senior Emari Jones had a career-high 10 rebounds vs. UL-Lafayette; she is averaging 11.2 points and 7.0 rebounds
• Auburn is 71-30 in non-conference games under Terri Williams-Flournoy and has won 16 out of their last 17 at home
• The Tigers have won 10 consecutive home non-conference games dating back to the 2016-17 season
• Auburn is 139-40 all-time in the month of November; Coach Flo is 31-13 in November at Auburn
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Be Auburn's 11th non-conference win in its last 12 games.
›› Give Coach Flo her 250th win as a collegiate head coach.
›› GIve the Tigers a 5-1 start for the third time in the last four seasons.
LAST MEETING:
Auburn 70, XULA 44 (Dec. 28, 2017)
›› Janiah McKay led four players in double-figures as Auburn pulled away in the second half for a 70-44 win over Xavier University of Louisiana at Auburn Arena.
›› McKay finished with 17 points and tied a career-high with six steals along with three assists and two rebounds. Sophomore Daisa Alexander had a strong night across the board as well with 13 points, a team-leading six rebounds, four steals and four assists.
›› Freshman Abigayle Jackson had a career-high 12 points off the bench along with four rebounds and a pair of blocks. Senior Jazmine Jones scored 10 points and pulled down five rebounds on her 22nd birthday.
SCOUTING THE GOLD NUGGETS
›› Xavier (La.) is 7-3 on the year. The Gold Nuggets have won two straight and three of their last four coming into Wednesday's game.
›› The Gold Nuggets won both their games in a tournament at the University of the Virgin Islands last weekend, defeating UVI 61-51 and Carlow 61-45.
›› Jas Hill is Xavier's leading scorer with 15.1 points/game. The Gold Nuggets average 67.9 points while holding opponents to 64.3.
›› XULA was picked to finish third in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. The team picked to win the league, Dillard, earned a victory over Louisiana-Lafayette - Auburn's last opponent - earlier this season.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 4-1 on the season and advanced to the semifinals of the preseason WNIT. The Tigers have wins over Grambling, Nicholls, New Mexico and UL-Lafayette while dropping a 3-point game at Iowa State. The Tigers were No. 18 in the initial NCAA RPI release on Nov. 26.
›› Senior point guard Janiah McKay leads the Tigers in scoring with 15.2 points/game; she also leads the SEC with 6.4 assists/game. McKay is the Tigers' leading returning scorer for the second straight season after averaging 16.6 ppg last season. McKay ranks 20th in career scoring at Auburn with 1,275 points.
›› Sophomore forward Unique Thompson is a force under the basket and has been key to Auburn's success early this year. She has four double-doubles in five games and is averaging 14.8 points and 13.8 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 10.8 points/game and had a career-high 8 assists vs. Louisiana-Lafayette.
›› Senior Emari Jones has been one of Auburn's most consistent scorers so far in 2018-19, averaging 11.2 points/game and scoring in double-figures in three of five 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 9.8 points and 3.4 rebounds. Primm transferred from Duke following the 2016-17 season.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn returns home for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, where the Tigers will host Oklahoma at 3 p.m. CT Sunday. The game will be televised by SEC Network.
Auburn women face Xavier (La.) Wednesday
