AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn women's basketball will play its fifth game away from home in a nine-day stretch Saturday when the Tigers take on TCU in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Game time is 2 p.m. CT in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Tigers (4-4) look to build off the momentum from a 20-point road victory at South Alabama on Wednesday night that saw five Auburn player score in double figures. A 23-2 run that spanned the end of the third and start of the fourth quarters proved to be the difference as the Tigers got defensive stops and converted off the Jaguars' turnovers. Brooke Moore led Auburn with 20 points while sophomore Erin Howard added 14 points, six rebounds and four steals.
Senior Daisa Alexander enters the weekend seeking a milestone as she is just 25 points away from 1,000 in her career. She would be the 34th Auburn player to reach that mark for a career. Alexander has topped the 20-point mark four times so far this year.
TCU (6-0) received votes in the latest Associated Press poll and is off to its best start since the 2003-04 season. The Horned Frogs play tough defense, forcing every opponent so far this year into at least 20 turnovers. It will be the second all-time meeting between the teams; Auburn defeated TCU 78-32 in 1994 at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
Brit Bowen will call the action from courtside at Schollmaier Arena with the pregame show beginning at 1:45 p.m. CT on WTGZ 93.9 FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and the official Auburn Tigers app. A live video stream of the game is available at GoFrogs.com.
QUICK HITS
• This is the second all-time meeting between Auburn and TCU in women's basketball
• Auburn won the only previous meeting between the schools on Nov. 26, 1994, in Auburn
• Auburn is 1-1 in two previous Big 12/SEC Challenge games; lost at Kansas State 71-66 in 2016; defeated Oklahoma at home 95-79 last year
• The Tigers are 5-8 all-time against current members of the Big 12
• Sophomore Erin Howard had her best game at Auburn with a 14-point, 6-rebound, 4-steal effort at South Alabama; she was 4-for-4 on 3-pointers in the second half; Brooke Moore added a season-high 20, also hitting 4 3-pointers
• Auburn's 13 3-pointers vs. Drake (12/1) tied for the second-most in program history, one shy of the school record (14) set at Drake on Dec. 22 of last season; the Tigers followed that up with 12 at South Alabama, giving them 25 in a two-game span
• Unique Thompson has eight double-doubles in eight games this year, which is tied for the NCAA lead; she has 28 career double-doubles, which ranks 5th in Auburn history
• Thompson is the only player in NCAA Division I with a double-double in every game her team has played this year
• Going back to the final game of 2018-19, Thompson has double-doubles in nine straight games, the second-longest streak in program history (Lauretta Freeman, 18 in 1992-93)
• Thompson's 653 career rebounds rank 2nd among active SEC players and 16th in Auburn history
• Freshman Lauren Hansen hit 7 3-pointers vs. Drake, one shy of the Auburn single-game record and the most by an Auburn player since Brandy Montgomery made 7 3-pointers at Florida on Jan. 1, 2017
• Daisa Alexander is fifth in the SEC in scoring (16.6 ppg) and fifth in steals (2.6/game) (as of Dec. 4)
• Alexander's 184 career steals rank second among active SEC players; her 975 points are 6th among active players
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Get Auburn back above .500 overall.
›› Improve Auburn's record to 2-1 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
›› Be Auburn's second straight win over a Big 12 opponent after having dropped eight straight before a win over Oklahoma last year.
›› Snap a 21-game home non-conference winning streak for TCU.
AUBURN-TCU SERIES
›› This is the second meeting between Auburn and TCU in women's basketball. Auburn won the only previous meeting in 1994. This will be Auburn's first trip to Fort Worth.
›› The Tigers are 5-8 all-time against current Big 12 members and went 1-1 last season (def. Oklahoma; lost at Iowa State).
SCOUTING TCU
›› TCU enters Saturday's game at 6-0 on the year, their best start since 2003-04. The Horned Frogs were picked to finish eighth in the Big 12.
›› The Horned Frogs are among the nation's leaders in forcing turnovers, having forced 20 or more against all six opponents so far this year. They lead the Big 12 and rank 21st nationally with 22.2 forced turnovers per game.
›› Lauren Heard leads TCU with 14.2 points and 3.7 assists per game, and Kianna Ray adds 12.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest. The Horned Frogs shoot 38.4% from the field and average 66.2 points per game, but are holding opponents to 55.0.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Junior forward Unique Thompson has eight double-doubles through eight games, averaging 17.6 points and 12.0 rebounds; she is the leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer in the Southeastern Conference. She has 28 career double-doubles, which ranks 5th in Auburn history and second among active SEC players.
›› Senior guard Daisa Alexander is the Tigers' second-leading scorer through seven games, averaging 16.6 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 and has four games this year with 20+ points. Alexander also ranks fifth in the SEC in steals (2.6/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.
›› Moore scored a season-high 20 points at South Alabama, hitting 4-of-6 3-point attempts.
›› 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, then a 24-point, 4-assist day against Drake where she made seven 3-pointers.
UP NEXT
›› After a week off for final exams, the Tigers will be back in action Sunday, Dec. 15, at home against Bethune-Cookman. Game time is 2 p.m. CT at Auburn Arena.