STANFORD, Calif. – For the third time in four years, the Auburn women's basketball team is ready to dance in the NCAA Tournament.
Auburn (22-9), seeded 10th in the Chicago Regional, will face the No. 7 seed BYU (25-6) at 2:45 p.m. CT Saturday at Maples Pavilion on the Stanford University campus.
This is the 21st NCAA appearance for the Tigers and the third under Williams-Flournoy. The Tigers are 30-20 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and have advanced to three Final Fours, finishing as national runner-up each time (1988, 1989, 1990).
Auburn finished the regular season and SEC Tournament with 22 wins and a 9-7 mark in league play, both firsts since 2009. All nine Auburn losses this season came to teams in the 2019 NCAA Tournament field.
Four Auburn players are making a return trip to the Big Dance. Seniors Janiah McKay and Erica Sanders played in the Tigers' last two trips to the postseason in 2016 and 2017. McKay's tournament debut was one to remember as she scored a then-career high 24 points in a 68-57 Auburn win over St. John's in the first round in 2016. In three career tournament games, McKay has averaged 15.0 points and 2.7 assists. Sanders has also played in all three NCAA games under Williams-Flournoy. She scored eight points in the St. John's win and also against NC State in 2017; junior Daisa Alexander appeared briefly in the NC State game as well.
Junior Crystal Primm played in two NCAA games as a sophomore at Duke, averaging 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in contests vs. Hampton and Oregon in 2017.
Auburn is playing at Maples Pavilion for the third time, their second trip for an NCAA Tournament. The Tigers faced George Washington in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, dropping a 66-56 decision to the Colonials.
BYU and Auburn will be meeting for the first time. The Cougars captured the West Coast Conference tournament title, defeating Gonzaga 82-68 on March 12 in Las Vegas. BYU is making its 13th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2016; that year, the Cougars also faced an SEC team in Missouri. Shaylee Gonzales leads BYU with 16.5 points and 4.2 assists per game, and the Cougars also have the nation's sixth-leading shot blocker (2.8/game) in 6-7 center Sara Hamson.
The winner of Saturday's game will face the winner of Pac-12 champion Stanford (28-4) and Big West champion UC Davis (25-6) on Monday; game time will be announced following the conclusion of the first round.
Andy Burcham and Larry DiChiara will be courtside at Maples Pavilion for the radio broadcast on WTGZ 93.9 FM beginning at 2:30 p.m. CT; the game can also be heard online at AuburnTigers.com. Saturday's game can also be seen on ESPN2 with Elise Woodward and Dan Hughes calling the action.
QUICK HITS
• Auburn is making its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance and third in the last four seasons
• This is the sixth NCAA Tournament appearance for head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy (3 at Auburn, 3 at Georgetown)
• Auburn is 30-20 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and has been national runner-up three times (1988, 1989, 1990)
• This is Auburn's first time as a No. 10 seed
• This will be Auburn's second trip to California for the NCAA Tournament; both have been at Stanford
• Auburn is 1-2 at Stanford's Maples Pavilion
• Saturday will be Auburn's first meeting with BYU in women's basketball
• Auburn is 0-3 all-time against Stanford; two of those meetings came in the NCAA Tournament
• Auburn is 1-0 all-time against UC Davis
• Auburn has won 17 of its last 19 opening round games and is 17-3 all-time in NCAA First Round contests
• Through the end of the regular season, Auburn ranks 10th in the nation in turnovers forced (21.2/game), 5th in turnover margin (+8.1) and 5th in steals (12.2)
• Auburn broke the school record for single-season 3-pointers in the SEC Tournament second-round win over Alabama; the previous record was 181 set in 2016-17; the Tigers now have 189 3-pointers on the season
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Give Auburn its 23rd win of the season, which would extend the winningest Auburn season under Terri Williams-Flournoy and tie for the second-most by Auburn in the last 26 seasons.
›› Advance Auburn to the NCAA Second Round for the third time in its last four appearances.
›› Be Auburn's first win in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed.
›› Improve Auburn to 2-0 all-time against the West Coast Conference and 3-0 against opponents from the state of Utah.
›› Improve Auburn to 2-2 all-time at Maples Pavilion.
AUBURN VS. BYU
›› This is the first meeting between Auburn and BYU in women's basketball.
›› BYU will be the second West Coast Conference team Auburn has faced in history. The Tigers defeated San Francisco in 1991.
AUBURN IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
›› Auburn is making its 21st appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its third in the last four years.
›› The Tigers are 30-20 (.600) all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Auburn has advanced to three Final Fours, finishing as national runner-up each time (1988, 1989, 1990).
›› Auburn's last time advancing to the regional round came in 1996, when the Tigers defeated Hawaii and Colorado in the first two rounds to advance to the West Regional in Seattle. The Tigers then defeated Penn State before falling to Stanford in the regional final.
›› Auburn's last appearance in the NCAA Tournament came in 2017, when the Tigers were a No. 11 seed in the Lexington Region. The Tigers went to Austin, Texas, for the first round, falling to No. 6 seed NC State 62-48.