AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team will try for their best start to a season in 10 years Thursday night when the Tigers travel to Philadelphia to take on St. Joseph's. Game time is 6 p.m. CT at Michael J. Hagan Arena.
The Tigers, at 6-1 on the year, are looking to start 7-1 for the first time under coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. It would be the best start to a campaign for Auburn since the SEC Championship season of 2008-09 when the Tigers won their first 20 games.
Auburn is coming off a 95-79 win over Oklahoma on Sunday that saw the Tigers set a school record for made 3-point field goals with 13. The Tigers' 95 points were also the most scored by Auburn against a "Power 5" conference opponent since 1990.
Senior Emari Jones has been Auburn's most consistent scorer over the last week, scoring 16 points and hitting four 3-pointers in each of the last two games. Along with the inside presence of sophomore Unique Thompson – averaging a team-leading 14.7 points and 13.4 rebounds – and four others averaging at least nine points, the Tigers' offense is scoring 80.4 points per game, fourth-best in the SEC.
St. Joseph's (3-5) is averaging just 50.6 points per game, but is one of the nation's top defensive teams, holding opponents to 54.8 points. Auburn and St. Joseph's have met twice previously, splitting the two meetings. This is the Tigers' second trip to Philadelphia to face the Hawks.
Andy Burcham and Brit Bowen will have the radio call of Thursday's game on WTGZ 93.9 FM and online at AuburnTigers.com; coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. CT. A live video stream will also be available on ESPN+.
QUICK HITS
• This is the third all-time meeting between Auburn and St. Joseph's in women's basketball
• Auburn is 1-1 all-time against SJU and seeks its first win against the Hawks in Philadelphia
• St. Joseph's won the last meeting 71-69 on Dec. 29, 2007, in Philadelphia
• Auburn's 95-79 win over Oklahoma gave the Tigers a 6-1 record for the third time in the last four seasons
• Auburn set a school record with 13 3-pointers in the win over Oklahoma on Dec. 2; previous record was 12 vs. Colgate in 2007
• Since 2001, Auburn has made at least 10 3-pointers in a game on 10 occasions; five of those have come under Coach Flo
• The Tigers' 95 points against Oklahoma (Dec. 2) were the most against a Power-5 conference opponent since 1990 (def. Vanderbilt 96-93 in 2OT)
• Under Coach Flo, Auburn is 5-0 when scoring at least 90 points and 26-1 when scoring at least 80 points
• Auburn's win over Oklahoma snapped an eight-game losing streak to Big 12 opponents
• The Tigers' win at Xavier (La.) was the 250th career coaching victory for Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy
• Sophomore Unique Thompson has recorded five double-doubles in seven games, including three straight against New Mexico, Iowa State and UL-Lafayette
• With 13.4 rebounds per game, Thompson ranks second in the SEC and 6th in the nation
• Thompson's 9.6 defensive rebounds per game lead the SEC and rank 5th nationally
• Thompson now has 12 career double-doubles, tied for 12th in Auburn history
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Be Auburn's 13th non-conference win in its last 14 games.
›› Give Auburn a 2-1 record all-time against St. Joseph's.
›› Give the Tigers a 7-1 start, their best of the Coach Flo era and the best since Auburn won its first 20 games to open the 2008-09 season.
AUBURN VS. ST. JOSEPH'S
›› This is the third meeting between Auburn and St. Joseph's in women's basketball; the second in Philadelphia.
›› Auburn and St. Joseph's are tied 1-1 with prior meetings in 1990 (Auburn, 74-55) and 2007 (SJU, 71-69).
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
›› St. Joseph's is 3-5 on the season. The Hawks have wins over Niagara, Loyola-Maryland and Columbia on the year, but dropped their most recent game to Villanova on Sunday, 47-35.
›› The Hawks average just 50.6 points per game but are one of the nation's top defensive teams, holding opponents to 54.8 points. SJU is a strong free-throw shooting team, averaging 73.1% from the line.
›› Alyssa Monaghan is SJU's leading scorer with 12.4 points/game; she is 35-of-40 at the free-throw line this season.
›› SJU was picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 6-1 on the season. The Tigers have wins over Grambling, Nicholls, New Mexico, UL-Lafayette, Xavier (La.) and Oklahoma while dropping a 3-point game at Iowa State. The Tigers are No. 28 in the latest NCAA RPI (as of Dec. 4).
›› Sophomore forward Unique Thompson is a force under the basket and has been key to Auburn's success early this year. She has five double-doubles in seven games and leads the Tigers with 14.7 points and 13.4 rebounds. As a freshman last season, she averaged 11.5 ppg and 8.4 rpg with 7 double-doubles, tying the Auburn freshman record.
›› Senior point guard Janiah McKay averages 13.0 points/game; she is also second in the SEC with 5.7 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 1,290 points.
›› 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 12.3 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 12.6 points/game and scoring in double-figures in five of seven 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 9.6 points and 3.1 rebounds. Primm transferred from Duke following the 2016-17 season.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
›› With 97 points in the season-opening win over Grambling, Auburn hit the 90-point plateau for the fourth time in the Coach Flo era and the first since scoring 92 on Nov. 17, 2014 - also against Grambling.
›› Auburn's 95-point effort against Oklahoma on Dec. 2 gave the Tigers two 90-point games in the same season for the first time since the 2008-09 season, when Auburn topped the 90-point mark six times.
›› The Tigers' 95 points against Oklahoma were the most scored by Auburn against a Power-5 conference opponent (SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12) since 1990, when the Tigers beat Vanderbilt 96-93 in 2 OT.
›› Under Coach Flo, Auburn is 5-0 when scoring at least 90 points and 26-1 when scoring at least 80 points.
›› Auburn's total of 563 points through seven games (80.4 average) are its most since the 2008-09 season, when the Tigers scored 564 in their first six contests (80.6 average).
UP NEXT
›› After a nine-day break for final exams, the Tigers are back in action Sunday, Dec. 16, as Auburn hosts Samford at Auburn Arena. Game time is 2 p.m. CT.
Auburn women on the road at St. Joseph's Thursday
