ESTERO, Fla. – The Auburn women's basketball team begins a stretch of five road games in nine days Friday morning when the Tigers take on Middle Tennessee in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Game time is 10 a.m. CT from Hertz Arena, just outside Fort Myers. It is the first game of a three-game tournament; the Tigers will face either Dayton or No. 22 Gonzaga Saturday and then could play Arizona State, Drake, Maine or Purdue Sunday.
Auburn (2-2) found it way back into the win column Sunday night with a 66-62 home win over St. Joseph's. Freshman Lauren Hansen led the way for Auburn with an 18-point, four-steal night, and junior Unique Thompson picked up her fourth double-double in as many games with 17 points and 12 rebounds. For her efforts in that game and against UAB last Thursday, Thompson was named SEC Player of the Week.
Middle Tennessee (4-1) comes into the weekend having won three straight. The Blue Raiders are led by Tennessee transfer Anastasia Hayes, who averages 17.0 points per game, and her sister, Aislynn Hayes, who leads the team in 3-point shooting at 47.8 percent.
Brit Bowen will have the radio call beginning at 9:45 a.m. CT on WTGZ 93.9 FM and online at AuburnTigers.com. A live stream is available for a charge via FloHoops.com.
QUICK HITS
• This is the fifth all-time meeting between Auburn and Middle Tennessee, the first at a neutral site
• Auburn is 4-0 all-time against the Blue Raiders with two wins each in Auburn and Murfreesboro
• Unique Thompson was named SEC Player of the Week after averaging 20.5 points and 15.0 rebounds in Auburn's two games last week
• Thompson has four double-doubles through four games this season; she has 24 career double-doubles, which ranks tied for 6th in Auburn history
• Going back to the final game of 2018-19, Thompson has double-doubles in five straight games; the last Auburn player to do that was Le'Coe Willingham in 2004
• As of Nov. 26, Thompson leads the nation in offensive rebounds per game (7.5), is third in the NCAA and first in the SEC in total rebounds (13.5/game) and is second in the SEC and 44th nationally in scoring (19.8 ppg)
• Thompson's 611 career rebounds rank 2nd among active SEC players and 20th in Auburn history
• Daisa Alexander is eighth in the SEC in scoring (16.8 ppg) and fourth in steals (3.0/game)
• Alexander's 175 career steals rank second among active SEC players
• Brooke Moore began her career 21-of-21 on free throws (11-of-11 this year) before her first miss against St. Joseph's; she is now 22-of-25 for her career
• Lauren Hansen and Annie Hughes both drew starts as true freshmen in the first three games of the season
• Hansen scored a career-high 18 points in the win over St. Joseph's and was 4-of-6 from 3-point range
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Keep Auburn unbeaten all-time against Middle Tennessee at 5-0.
›› Snap a two-game skid against Conference USA opponents.
›› Move Auburn into the winner's bracket at the Gulf Coast Showcase.
AUBURN-MIDDLE TENNESSEE SERIES
›› This is the fifth meeting between Auburn and Middle Tennessee in women's basketball but the first in 20 years.
›› Auburn leads 4-0 with prior meetings in home-and-home series in 1985-86 and 1998-88. This will be the first meeting at a neutral site.
LAST MEETING: Nov. 23, 1999
Auburn 93, Middle Tennessee 51
›› Four Tigers scored in double-figures as Auburn jumped out to a big early lead and never looked back in a 93-51 win over Middle Tennessee at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
›› Tasha Hamilton led Auburn with 16 points, followed by LaKeisha Johnson with 12. Le'Coe Willingham scored 11 and Jackie Pugh had 10.
SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE
›› Middle Tennessee is 4-1 on the year with their only setback coming at the hands of then-No. 13 Kentucky.
›› The Blue Raiders were picked to finish second in Conference USA by the league's coaches.
›› Anastasia Hayes, a Tennessee transfer, leads MTSU in scoring with 17.0 points/game and is the team's second-leading rebounder. Her sister, Aislynn Hayes, leads the Blue Raiders in 3-point shooting (47.8%) and steals (2.4/game). The younger Hayes was named USBWA National Freshman of the Week Tuesday after averaging 18.5 points in two wins last week.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› The Tigers are among the most inexperienced teams in the country with just two upperclassmen on their 13-player roster. With four freshmen and seven sophomores, Auburn is one of just eight teams nationwide with three or fewer upperclassmen on its roster.
›› Junior forward Unique Thompson has four double-doubles through four games, averaging 19.8 points and 13.5 rebounds; she is the leading rebounder and second-leading scorer in the Southeastern Conference. She has 24 career double-doubles, which is tied for 6th in Auburn history and second among active SEC players.
›› Senior guard Daisa Alexander is the Tigers' second-leading scorer (8th in SEC) through four games, averaging 16.8 points/game. She scored 22 points in the opener vs. Wofford and 17 vs. Old Dominion while playing point guard, a position she has played sparingly throughout her career. She poured in 20 points at UAB after returning to the shooting guard position. Alexander also ranks fourth in the SEC in steals (3.0/game).
›› Sophomore Brooke Moore, redshirt sophomore Kiyae' White and freshman Annie Hughes all earned their first collegiate starts vs. Wofford in the season opener. Moore scored 15 points in each of the first two games, Hughes hit double-digits in the first two games, and White scored a career-high 12 in the win over St. Joseph's.
›› Freshman Lauren Hansen earned her first career start at UAB on Nov. 21 in her second collegiate game. Hansen followed that up with an 18-point, 4-steal performance in a win over St. Joseph's.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn will face either Dayton or Gonzaga on Saturday in the second round of the Gulf Coast Showcase. If Auburn wins, they will play at 4 p.m. CT; with a loss, the Tigers would play at 10 a.m. CT.
›› The Tigers would face Arizona State, Maine, Drake or Purdue on Sunday at a time to be determined.