AUBURN, Ala. – It's the final regular-season game of the season for the Auburn women's basketball team as the Tigers play host to Tennessee Sunday afternoon at Auburn Arena. Game time is set for 2:05 p.m. CT.
Prior to the game, senior guard Daisa Alexander and senior managers AK Prestridge and Sean Holmes will be honored in a pregame ceremony. The festivities are expected to begin at approximately 1:45 p.m. Arena doors open at 1 p.m.
The team has also partnered with the Auburn Wheelchair Basketball team for a sock drive to benefit the homeless. Fans are encouraged to bring new socks to donate for those in need.
The Tigers are looking to head into the SEC Tournament on a two-game winning streak after coming home from Missouri Thursday night with a 95-82 win at Mizzou Arena. Auburn put together its best offensive performance against an SEC opponent since 1990, shooting a season-high 59 percent from the field and seeing three players – Robyn Benton, Erin Howard and Alexander – score 20-plus points apiece.
In addition, junior Unique Thompson broke the Auburn career record for double-doubles, getting her 41st with a 12-point, 14-rebound effort in the win. She enters the final regular-season game still tied for the NCAA Division I lead in double-doubles this season; she and Belmont's Ellie Harmeyer have 21 apiece.
Tennessee has won two straight coming into Sunday's game, defeating Vanderbilt Sunday and earning a home win over Ole Miss Thursday. The Lady Vols swept two meetings with Auburn last season; the Tigers' last win in the series came at home in 2017.
Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara will call the action on WTGZ 93.9 FM beginning at 1:45 p.m. with a live stream on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics app. Fans can also watch on SEC Network, which will have whiparound coverage of six SEC games Sunday afternoon. Roy Philpott and Brooke Weisbrod will call the action from Auburn Arena.
ROAD TO GREENVILLE
›› If Auburn defeats Tennessee and Missouri loses at Alabama, Auburn will be the No. 11 seed and face Ole Miss at 12:30 p.m. CT Wednesday.
›› If Auburn loses to Tennessee or Missouri defeats Alabama, Auburn will be the No. 12 seed and face Vanderbilt at 10 a.m. CT Wednesday.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Bring Auburn to .500 in home SEC games this season.
›› Give Auburn back-to-back SEC wins for the first time this year.
›› Snap a four-game losing streak to Tennessee.
AUBURN-TENNESSEE SERIES
›› This is the 57th meeting between Auburn and Tennessee, the only regular-season meeting in 2020. Tennessee is 45-11 all-time against Auburn and has won 12 of the last 13 meetings. The Lady Vols swept two meetings last year.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 14, 2019 (at Knoxville)
Tennessee 73, Auburn 62
›› Daisa Alexander matched a season-high with 22 points, but Auburn could not hold onto a halftime lead as Tennessee earned a 73-62 win Thursday night in Knoxville.
›› The Tigers hit an equal number of shots to Tennessee and out-shot the Lady Vols from long range, but Tennessee out-rebounded Auburn 25-11 in the second half, scored 16 second-chance points and took advantage of multiple free-throw opportunities to secure the win.
›› Alexander's 22 marked her third time in SEC play to score that total, matching her output from the wins at Florida and Alabama. She also hit a season-high four 3-pointers and led the Tigers with three assists. Unique Thompson picked up her 11th double-double of the season and second in a row with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Janiah McKay added 12 points.
›› For the game, Auburn hit 27-of-65 attempts (42%) and Tennessee made 27-of-63 (43%). But Tennessee was 14-of-16 at the free-throw line; meanwhile, Auburn did not get to the line until late in the third quarter and made just 2-of-5. The Tigers also forced a season-low 12 turnovers while Tennessee had 10 steals to Auburn's eight.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE
›› Tennessee is 19-9 overall, 9-7 in SEC play. The Lady Vols have won their last two games after dropping five straight to begin February.
›› The Lady Vols average 71.1 points per game while holding opponents to 59.9. UT is one of the top defensive teams in the league as opponents shoot just 33.4% against them, and they are the league's top rebounding team at 46.4%.
›› Rennia Davis leads UT and is the SEC's third-leading scorer with 18.1 points per game. She is also the team's top rebounder with 8.3/game and has 10 double-doubles this year.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Junior forward Unique Thompson has 21 double-doubles through 26 games, averaging 16.6 points and 11.6 rebounds; she is the second-leading rebounder and fifth-leading scorer in the Southeastern Conference. She has 41 career double-doubles, first among active SEC players, and the most in Auburn history. Thompson scored her 1,000th career point at Kentucky (1/27).
›› Senior guard Daisa Alexander is the Tigers' second-leading scorer, averaging 13.6 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 (2.2/game). Alexander missed two games with an ankle injury, but returned to the lineup with 17 points at Georgia (1/19) and a career-high 10 rebounds vs. Ole Miss (1/23). She is the top free-throw shooter in SEC play at 85.7%.
›› 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. Benton made her first career start at Georgia (1/19), scoring 12 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 steals. She added 17 points and 6 rebounds in the Tigers' win over Ole Miss (1/23), and she had 6 steals in each of two games vs. MSU and Vandy. She then led Auburn with a career-high 23 points in a win at Missouri (2/27). Benton is averaging 2.8 steals, which would rank second in the SEC if she met playing minimums. In SEC play, she leads the league with 3.1 steals/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. She had her best game in SEC play with 18 points against Vanderbilt (2/2).
›› Sophomore Erin Howard scored a career-high 22 points at Missouri (2/27); she has started 14 games in SEC play and is averaging 7.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in conference games.
SEEING DOUBLE
›› Junior Unique Thompson has 41 career double-doubles, the all-time Auburn career record. She surpassed Auburn great DeWanna Bonner's record with her 41st double-double at Missouri on Feb. 27, 2020.
›› Thompson is tied for the national lead with 21 double-doubles this year and had the longest streak of the season nationally with 12 in her first 12 games.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn will play in the first round of the SEC Tournament Wednesday, March 4, in Greenville, S.C., against either Vanderbilt or Ole Miss. Game time is TBD.