AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team will wrap up non-conference play and a stretch of four games in eight days Sunday afternoon when the Belmont Bruins visit Auburn Arena for a 2 p.m. CT tip.
Sunday's game was originally scheduled for Dec. 8 but was postponed due to COVID-19 issues. Tickets that were purchased for the original game will be valid for admission to Sunday's contest, and tickets are available for sale at AuburnTigers.com and at the arena ticket office on game day.
All single-game tickets for Auburn women's basketball in 2020-21 are $6 and valid for general admission in the 100 level of Auburn Arena. All persons inside the arena are required to wear face coverings at all times and maintain appropriate social distancing.
The Tigers (5-2) are coming off a 94-81 win over North Florida Thursday night that saw five Auburn players in double-figures, led by 19 points and 18 rebounds from Unique Thompson and a career-high 17 points from Annie Hughes. Belmont enters the contest at 3-2 overall; the Bruins won at Alabama A&M 71-55 Friday night.
For the latest on Auburn women's basketball, follow @AuburnWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara will have the radio call on WQSI 93.9 FM beginning at 1:45 p.m. CT; the game can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the official Auburn Athletics app.
›› The game can be seen on SEC Network + with the home radio call; SEC Network + is available via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Five Tigers scored in double-figures as Auburn topped the 90-point mark for the second time this season with a 94-81 win over North Florida Thursday night at Auburn Arena.
›› The Tigers (5-2) were able to bounce back from tough offensive night Wednesday in their loss to SFA with their second-highest scoring total of the season, getting big nights from senior Unique Thompson and sophomore Annie Hughes to lead the way.
›› Thompson led Auburn with 19 points and 18 rebounds, her sixth straight double-double and the 48th of her career. Her 18 rebounds were the most in a home game in her Auburn career; she also contributed three assists and two steals. Hughes hit for a career-high 17 points and matched a career-high with seven rebounds, knocking down three 3-pointers for the second time in three games. She also shared the team lead with three steals.
›› Redshirt sophomore Honesty Scott-Grayson scored 16 points for the second straight night, matching her career high from Wednesday's game. She also had three steals. Freshman Romi Levy also had a career-high 12 points along with five rebounds, and Jala Jordan came up just short of her first career double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds. Alaina Rice added nine points off the bench, her best at Auburn, and Kira Lowery led the Tigers with five assists and a career-best three steals.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Give the Tigers a 6-2 non-conference record.
›› End non-conference play with a win for the fifth straight season.
›› Be the 99th win for Auburn women's basketball at Auburn Arena.
AUBURN-BELMONT SERIES
›› Auburn and Belmont are meeting for the third time in women's basketball. The Tigers won the two previous meetings, both in Auburn.
LAST MEETING: Nov. 15, 2011
Auburn 80, Belmont 53
›› Auburn coasted past Belmont 80-53 in its 2011-12 home-opener at Auburn Arena, putting the 800th victory in program history in the books. Sophomore Camille Glymph came off the bench, hitting five of Auburn's 10 3-pointers to lead the Tigers with 18 points in the win.
›› Glymph was one of three Auburn players in double figures as Tyrese Tanner added 16 points, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and Jassany Williams earned 12 points while also adding four blocks.
SCOUTING BELMONT
›› Belmont is 3-2 on the season, 1-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Bruins have wins over Middle Tennessee, Tennessee State and Alabama A&M with losses on the road at Kentucky and at home to Marquette.
›› The Bruins were picked to finish second in the OVC. Last year, Belmont went 22-9 overall, 16-2 in OVC play, claiming their fourth straight regular-season conference title.
›› Belmont scores 67.0 points/game while giving up just 57.6. The Bruins lead the OVC and rank 34th nationally with 11.0 steals/game.
›› Tuti Jones is the national leader in steals per game, averaging 5.5. She also leads the Bruins in scoring (12.0) and rebounds (5.0).
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Through seven games, Auburn is averaging 75.4 points/game while holding opponents to 64.4 points. The Tigers have topped the 80-point mark three times and scored 90-plus twice.
›› Auburn is second in the SEC and ranks 13th nationally in steals per game at 13.6; the Tigers are also 26th in the nation and 3rd in the SEC in turnover margin (+6.3).
›› Senior forward Unique Thompson is averaging 18.6 points and 14.1 rebounds through seven games; she also has six double-doubles on the season, which leads the nation. Thompson leads the SEC and ranks 3rd nationally in rebounds/game. An honorable-mention All-American and first-team All-SEC performer a year ago, Thompson is Auburn's lone returning starter. She averaged a double-double for the second straight year in 2020 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.
›› Two redshirt sophomore transfers that sat out last season are making an immediate impact. Honesty Scott-Grayson (Baylor) and Jala Jordan (West Virginia) have both earned significant minutes through the first several games. Scott-Grayson has started all seven games and had 16 points against both SFA and North Florida, along with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals vs. Gardner-Webb. Jordan is Auburn's second-leading scorer with 10.4 points/game; she's also the Tigers' second-leading rebounder (4.6/game) and leading shot-blocker (1.1/game)
›› Four other returners saw game action for Auburn last season: redshirt junior Kiyae' White and sophomores Annie Hughes, Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu and Sania Wells. Hughes scored a career-high 17 points against North Florida and has started six of seven games. 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. Wells scored a career-high 11 points in the win over South Alabama.
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 and again vs. Gardner-Webb on Dec. 1.
›› 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 has started all seven games at PG and leads Auburn with 2.0 assists/game.
›› 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 scored a season-best 14 points vs. Gardner-Webb (12/1).
›› 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. Reese scored 10 points and hit Auburn's only two 3-pointers at Houston (12/5).
›› 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 and scored 9 points vs. North Florida.
›› 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 started the first four games; Levy is averaging 6.1 points and 3.1 rebounds. McFadden played significant minutes in the win over South Alabama, sharing the team lead with three assists.
UNIQUE LEADS THE WAY
›› Through games of Dec. 17, Unique Thompson leads the nation in double-doubles (6), ranks third in rebounds per game (14.1) and is tied for second in offensive rebounds per game (6.0). She leads the SEC in all three categories.
›› In addition to being the SEC's active career leader in double-doubles, Unique Thompson is the league's active leader in career rebounds (987) and steals (161) and is third in career scoring (1,300).
›› Last season, Thompson was second in the SEC and 10th nationally in rebounding (11.4/game), led the SEC and was 8th nationally in offensive rebounds (4.4/game), and was third in the SEC and 15th nationally in field goal percentage (58.2%).
SEEING DOUBLE
›› With six double-doubles so far this season, Unique Thompson has 48 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 9 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 (as of Dec. 17).
UP NEXT
›› Auburn opens up SEC play Thursday, Dec. 31, on the road at LSU. Game time is set for 6 p.m. CT at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Auburn women close out non-conference play with Belmont
