AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team closes out 2020 and opens up Southeastern Conference play Thursday night with a New Year's Eve tilt on the road at LSU. Game time is 6 p.m. CT at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.
Auburn (5-3) hits the court for the first time in 10 days following the Christmas break. In their last outing, the Tigers came up short against Belmont despite a huge game from senior Unique Thompson, who finished with 20 points and 23 rebounds and pulled down her 1,000th career rebound.
LSU (2-4) also had the last 10 days off following a pair of games in Las Vegas; a loss to Pacific and a win over Loyola Marymount.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen will call the action on WQSI 93.9 FM beginning at 5:45 p.m. CT. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the official Auburn Tigers app.
›› The game can be seen on SEC Network + with Lyn Rollins and Victor Howell on the call. SEC Network + games are available via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Unique Thompson had 20 points, 23 rebounds and hit a major milestone with her 1,000th career rebound, but the Tigers could not overcome turnover troubles in a 78-57 loss to Belmont at Auburn Arena.
›› Thompson became the fifth player at Auburn to surpass the 1,000-rebound mark for her career with her 13th board of the day. With 23 rebounds in the contest, Thompson now sits fourth in career rebounds with 1,010, passing Vickie Orr (1,006).
›› But Auburn (5-3), playing its third game in five days, turned the ball over a season-high 27 times, leading to 31 points for Belmont (4-2). The Tigers also saw the Bruins hit 11 3-pointers and shoot 50 percent from long range.
›› Thompson's effort was her second 20-point, 20-rebound game of the season; Auburn had only had five such games in program history heading into the year. Her 23 rebounds tied her career-high, which also ranks as the third-most in a single game in Auburn history. It was also her seventh straight double-double and 49th of her career as she continues to lead the nation in that category.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Give the Tigers a win in their SEC opener for the fourth time in the last six years.
›› Be Auburn's fourth straight win over LSU and sixth in the last seven meetings.
AUBURN-LSU SERIES
›› Auburn and LSU are meeting for the 57th time in women's basketball. Auburn owns a 34-22 lead in the series that dates back to 1980 and has won three straight meetings. Auburn is also 13-12 against LSU in games played in Baton Rouge.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 16, 2020
Auburn 65, LSU 60
›› Unique Thompson scored a game-high 23 points and Daisa Alexander had a career-high 10 assists as the Auburn women's basketball team never trailed in earning its third straight home win, a 65-60 victory over LSU at Auburn Arena.
›› Auburn led by as many as 15 points late in the fourth quarter before a flurry of turnovers allowed LSU to cut the lead to as few as four. But Auburn was able to get a pair of late stops and make free throws late to overcome the furious LSU rally.
›› Thompson's 23 points led all scorers; she also finished with six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Alexander's 10 assists were the most for an Auburn player in an SEC game since Janiah McKay had 13 against Ole Miss during the 2017 season. Alexander also had seven points and six rebounds.
›› Auburn shot 48.9 percent for the game, its second-best effort in SEC play, while holding LSU to 35.6 percent. Auburn also shot 50 percent from 3-point range for the second straight game, hitting 8-of-16 from long range. LSU out-rebounded Auburn 36-31.
SCOUTING LSU
›› LSU is 2-4 on the season. The Bayou Bengals have claimed wins over UL-Lafayette and Loyola Marymount with losses to BYU, West Virginia, Central Florida and Pacific.
›› LSU averages 53.5 points/game while giving up 61.5. They shoot 35.5% from the floor and average 29.2 rebounds per game.
›› Khayla Pointer is LSU's leading scorer with 12.0 points/game, and Faustine Aifuwa adds 10.5 points and a team-best 9.8 rebounds.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Through eight games, Auburn is averaging 73.1 points/game while holding opponents to 66.1 points. The Tigers have topped the 80-point mark three times and scored 90-plus twice.
›› Senior forward Unique Thompson leads the nation with 15.3 rebounds per game this year and leads Auburn with 18.8 points/game. She is also the national leader in double-doubles with seven. Thompson pulled down her 1,000th career rebound against Belmont on Dec. 20 and is the only active player nationally with over 1,000 career rebounds. 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.
›› 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 eight games and had a career-high 18 points vs. Belmont, 16 points against both SFA and North Florida, and 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals vs. Gardner-Webb. Jordan is Auburn's third-leading scorer with 9.1 points/game; she's also the Tigers' second-leading rebounder (4.4/game) and leading shot-blocker (1.0/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 seven of eight 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 eight games at PG and leads Auburn with 2.1 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 5.6 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. 29, Unique Thompson leads the nation in double-doubles (7), rebounds per game (15.2) and offensive rebounds per game (6.4). She also leads the SEC in all three categories.
›› In addition to being the SEC and national active career leader in double-doubles, Unique Thompson is the SEC and national active leader in career rebounds (1,010), the SEC active leader in steals (162) and is third among active SEC players career in scoring (1,320).
SEEING DOUBLE
›› With seven double-doubles so far this season, Unique Thompson has 49 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 8 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.
20-20 VISION
›› With 26 points and 23 rebounds at Houston (12/5), Thompson was the first Auburn player to record a 20-20 game since Lauretta Freeman had 30 points and 21 rebounds at Alabama on Feb. 17, 1993. Her 23 rebounds tied for the third-most in Auburn history.
›› Thompson reprised the feat two weeks later with a 20-point, 23-rebound effort against Belmont at home.
›› Auburn women's basketball has now had seven 20-20 games in its history; Freeman was responsible for three of them, including two in back-to-back games in 1993.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn plays its home SEC opener Sunday, Jan. 3, when the Tigers host Georgia. Game time is 2 p.m. CT at Auburn Arena.
Auburn women open SEC play at LSU
