AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team opens the home portion of their 2020 SEC schedule Sunday afternoon when the Tigers host No. 20 Arkansas. Game time is 1 p.m. CT at Auburn Arena.
Auburn (6-6, 0-1 SEC) will seek to bounce back after dropping Thursday's conference opener at Vanderbilt. Despite the loss, junior Unique Thompson kept her nation-leading double-double streak alive with a 14-point, 10-rebound performance for her 12th double-double in as many games this year.
Arkansas (12-2, 0-1) also dropped its league opener Thursday, falling to No. 11 Texas A&M 84-77. The Razorbacks lead the SEC in scoring and are one of the top scoring offenses in the nation, averaging 86.2 points/game.
Last season, the Tigers fought off a furious Arkansas rally to hold on for a 75-72 win in Fayetteville, despite 41 points from the Razorbacks' Chelsea Dungee. In that game, Daisa Alexander led Auburn with 18 points and Unique Thompson added 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara have the radio call on WTGZ 93.9 FM in Auburn and online at AuburnTigers.com and the official Auburn Tigers app. The game will be nationally televised on SEC Network with Eric Frede and Christy Thomaskutty calling the action.
QUICK HITS
• This is the 39th meeting between Auburn and Arkansas in women's basketball
• Auburn leads the series 23-15, including an 11-6 advantage at home
• Auburn has won three of the last four meetings, but the teams have split the last 12
• Auburn held off a late Arkansas rally to win 75-72 in Fayetteville last season
• Unique Thompson has 12 double-doubles in 12 games this year, which leads the NCAA; she has 32 career double-doubles, which ranks 3rd 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 13 straight games, the second-longest streak in program history (Lauretta Freeman, 18 in 1992-93)
• Thompson has been named SEC Player of the Week twice this season, including most recently on Dec. 30
• Thompson's 701 career rebounds rank 2nd among active SEC players and 15th in Auburn history
• Senior Daisa Alexander scored her 1,000th career point in Auburn's win over Jacksonville State (12/28); she is the 34th Tiger to reach that milestone
• Alexander's 191 career steals rank second among active SEC players; her 1,004 points are 7th among active players
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Move the Tigers to .500 in SEC play and back above .500 overall.
›› Be Auburn's fourth win over Arkansas in the last five meetings.
›› Be Auburn's highest-ranked win since defeating No. 16 Florida on Feb. 14, 2016.
AUBURN-ARKANSAS SERIES
›› Auburn is 23-15 all-time against Arkansas, including an 11-6 lead in games played in Auburn. The Tigers and Razorbacks have split the 12 meetings; Auburn won last year's contest in Fayetteville.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 10, 2019
Auburn 75, Arkansas 72
›› Four Tigers scored in double-figures, and the Auburn women's basketball team held off a late Arkansas rally to earn a thrilling 75-72 win Sunday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena.
›› The Tigers saw a 17-point third-quarter lead evaporate as Arkansas' Chelsea Dungee scored 41 points – 32 of them in the second half – but got two late defensive stops and made clutch free throws to hold on for their fifth SEC road win of the year.
›› Thompson picked up her 10th double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds, including the two clutch free throws in the final seconds. Alexander led the Tigers with 18 points, Janiah McKay added 13 along with six assists, and Benton scored 11. Erin Howard had one of her best all-around games of the season with 7 points, a career-high 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals.
›› Auburn shot 45.9 percent from the field and held Arkansas to a 36.8-percent day. The Tigers forced just 12 turnovers, tied for the fewest this season, but took advantage of the few with 20 points off the Razorbacks' giveaways. Auburn also controlled the inside game, scoring 42 points in the paint to Arkansas' 16. The Tigers also won the rebounding battle 37-32.
SCOUTING ARKANSAS
›› Arkansas is the SEC's highest-scoring team, averaging 86.2 points/game to rank fifth nationally. The Razorbacks also rank second nationally in 3-point defense (.203) and fewest turnovers (10.6) and sixth in the country in 3-pointers made per game (10.0).
›› Chelsea Dungee leads the Razorbacks with 19.8 points/game; she ranks third in the SEC and 18th nationally. She has also made 77 free throws this season, third-most in the nation. Amber Ramirez and Alexis Tolefree are among the nation's top 3-point shooters; Ramirez averages 3.5 per game while Tolefree shoots 49.4 percent from long range.
›› Arkansas was picked to finish fifth in the SEC this season; the Razorbacks made a surprise run to the SEC Tournament championship game last season as the No. 10 seed and earned a WNIT berth.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› The Tigers remain one of 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.
›› Auburn averages 70.7 points per game but gives up 72.6; the Tigers lead the SEC with 10.7 steals per game.
›› Junior forward Unique Thompson has 12 double-doubles through 12 games, averaging 18.5 points and 12.0 rebounds; she is the leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer in the Southeastern Conference. She has 32 career double-doubles, which ranks 3rd in Auburn history and tied for first among active SEC players.
›› Senior guard Daisa Alexander is the Tigers' second-leading scorer, averaging 13.5 points/game. She scored her 1,000th career point against Jacksonville State on Dec. 28, becoming the 34th Tiger to reach that milestone. Alexander also ranks fifth in the SEC in steals (2.3/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. She is third on the team with 11.7 points/game.
›› 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.
›› Sophomore Robyn Benton made her season debut vs. Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 15, scoring 10 points along with two blocks. She missed the season's first nine games with injury.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn continues a three-game home stand Thursday night when the Tigers host Florida. Game time is 6 p.m. CT at Auburn Arena.