AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team wraps up a season-opening three-game home stand Tuesday night when the Tigers welcome Gardner-Webb to Auburn Arena. Game time is set for 6 p.m. CT.
Auburn is 2-0 following wins over USC Upstate and Samford last week. Gardner-Webb enters the contest 0-1; the Runnin' Bulldogs dropped their season opener to Elon last week. It will be the first meeting between the schools in women's basketball.
Limited general admission tickets are available at AUBTix.com; all tickets are $6 and valid for general admission seating in the 100 level of the arena. All persons inside Auburn Arena must wear a face covering at all times and maintain appropriate social distancing. Visit the Women's Basketball Gameday page at AuburnTigers.com for more information.
For the latest on Auburn women's basketball, follow @AuburnWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara have the radio call, beginning at 5:45 p.m. CT on WQSI 93.9 FM and online at AuburnTigers.com and the official Auburn Tigers app.
›› Brad Law and Mimi Hill will call the action on SEC Network +, available via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Senior Unique Thompson picked up her first double-double of the season, and Auburn was able to fend off a late 3-point flurry from Samford to pick up a 66-64 win Saturday night at Auburn Arena.
›› The Tigers (2-0) led by as many as 16 early in the second half. But Samford (0-2) chipped away over the final 20 minutes – led by five 3-pointers from the Bulldogs' Katie Allen in the fourth quarter, three of them in the final 79 seconds – to put major pressure on the Tigers.
›› A pair of key shots from redshirt sophomore Jala Jordan kept the Bulldogs at bay, and clutch free throws from Thompson and junior Kira Lowery secured the win as Samford missed a final 3-point heave at the buzzer.
›› Thompson led Auburn with 16 points for the second straight game and pulled down 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and 43rd of her career. She also led the Tigers with five steals. Lowery added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting and had a team-leading four assists in her second game as a Tiger. She also added a pair of steals. Junior Keya Patton added nine points, knocking down three 3-pointers, and Jordan chipped in eight points and four rebounds.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Give the Tigers a 3-0 start for the third time in the last five seasons.
›› Improve Auburn's record against Big South opponents to 11-2.
›› Be Auburn's 20th win in its last 21 home non-conference games.
SCOUTING GARDNER-WEBB
›› Gardner-Webb returns nine letter-winners from its 2019-20 squad that went 18-11 overall and 13-7 in the BIg South, finishing fifth in the final standings. The Runnin' Bulldogs dropped their season opener at home to Elon last Wednesday, 88-60.
›› The Bulldogs were picked to finish fifth in the Big South in a vote of the league's coaches.
›› Alasia Smith led GWU in their opener against Elon with 21 points and 9 rebounds, hitting 8-of-13 shots from the field and three 3-pointers. Jhessyka Williams is GWU's leading returning scorer, averaging 10.2 points/game last season.
›› Former Tennessee player Alex Simmons is in her third season as the Runnin' Bulldogs' head coach. GWU assistant coach Danielle Bell served as Auburn's director of operations for the 2012-13 season.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Through two games, Auburn is averaging 74.0 points/game on offense while holding opponents to 52.5. Auburn shoots 41.6% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range and 72.5% at the free-throw line. The Tigers rank 18th nationally with 13.5 steals per game and are scoring 21.5 points/game off opponent turnovers.
›› Senior forward Unique Thompson, an honorable-mention All-American and first-team All-SEC performer a year ago, is Auburn's lone returning starter. She averaged a double-double for the second straight year with 16.2 points and 11.4 rebounds, leading Auburn in both categories. Thompson is also the nation's leading returner in double-doubles with 22 last season. Thompson has scored 16 points in each of the first two games and picked up her first double-double of the season vs. Samford.
›› Two redshirt sophomore transfers that sat out last season are set to make an immediate impact. Honesty Scott-Grayson (Baylor) and Jala Jordan (West Virginia) both look to earn significant playing time. Scott-Grayson earned her first career start and scored 7 points in Wednesday's opener. Jordan tied for the team lead with 16 points and hit 4-of-6 3-pointers vs. USC Upstate.
›› Four other returners saw game action for Auburn last season: redshirt junior Kiyae' White and sophomores Annie Hughes, Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu and Sania Wells. Wells and Robinson-Nwagwu played significant minutes in the opener; Robinson-Nwagwu had a career-high four steals and matched career-highs with 6 points and 4 rebounds.
ALL THE NEW FACES
›› Of the 15 players on the roster, 10 of them wore an Auburn uniform for the first time in game action vs. USC Upstate. All 10 newcomers saw the floor in the Tigers' 82-41 win on Nov. 25.
›› 2019-20 transfers Jala Jordan and Honesty Scott-Grayson were eligible for the first time vs. USC Upstate. Jordan shared the team lead with 16 points and hit 4-of-6 3-pointers against USC Upstate, then scored 8 points against Samford.
›› Auburn added three junior college transfers during the offseason, including two NJCAA All-Americans:
›› Kira Lowery came to Auburn from Dyersburg State CC (Tenn.) where she ranked third in the nation in scoring (23.3 ppg) and second in steals (4.0/game) and was an NJCAA All-American in 2020. Lowery is Auburn's third-leading scorer (8.0 ppg) and leads the Tigers in assists (4.0) through two games.
›› Keya Patton was a two-time All-American at Wabash Valley College (Ill.), where she scored over 1,000 points in two seasons and averaged 20.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.4 steals as a sophomore. She hit three 3-pointers in Auburn's win over Samford on 11/28.
›› Alycia Reese joins the Tigers from just down the road at Chattahoochee Valley CC in Phenix City, where she led the team with 12.8 points/game last season.
›› Sophomore Alaina Rice joined the Tigers in June after transferring from Florida A&M. Rice was MEAC Rookie of the Year in 2020 at FAMU where she averaged 10.3 points and 4.7 rebounds. Rice led Auburn with 5 assists in the season-opener.
›› The Tigers signed two freshmen during the offeseason: Romi Levy (6-2, F, Herzliya, Israel) and Aicha Coulibaly (6-0, F/G, Mali). Two others joined Auburn as walk-ons: Riley Donahue (5-10, G, Atlanta, Ga.) and Carsen McFadden (5-7, G, Fairview, Texas). Coulibaly has started the first two games, and Levy is averaging 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds through two contests.
SEEING DOUBLE
›› With one double-double so far this season, Unique Thompson has 43 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.
›› Unique needs 14 more double-doubles this season to enter the SEC's all-time top 10.
›› In 2019-20, Thompson had 22 double-doubles to lead the SEC and finish second overall nationally. She is the nation's leading returner in double-doubles.
›› Thompson has averaged a double-double for two straight seasons and for her career, the first Auburn player to accomplish that feat.
›› Thompson is first among active SEC players in career double-doubles.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn makes its only road trip of the non-conference season Saturday when the Tigers travel to Houston. Game time is 1 p.m. CT at the Fertitta Center in Houston, Texas.
Auburn women host Gardner-Webb Tuesday night
