AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team plays its third home game in SEC play Thursday night when No. 8 Texas A&M visits Auburn Arena. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. CT.
Tickets are available at AuburnTigers.com and at the arena ticket office; 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, sit in designated seats, and maintain appropriate social distancing. Visit the Women's Basketball Gameday page at AuburnTigers.com for more information.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara will have the radio call beginning at 7:15 p.m. CT on WQSI 93.9 FM and online at AuburnTigers.com and the official Auburn Athletics app.
›› The game is slated for a national broadcast on SEC Network with Eric Frede and Tamika Catchings calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Auburn's Honesty Scott-Grayson scored 17 points, but Alabama started fast and pulled away late for a 67-55 women's basketball win Sunday afternoon at Coleman Coliseum.
›› The Tigers once again dug themselves an early hole, fought back to keep within striking distance, but could not finish off the comeback in the first of two meetings with the Crimson Tide this season.
›› Scott-Grayson's 17 points included a 7-for-8 day at the free throw line; she was the only Auburn player to attempt a free throw in the game. She also led the Tigers with four assists and matched a career-high with five steals. Unique Thompson picked up her 10th straight double-double and 52nd of her career with 10 points and 10 rebounds on the day. Alaina Rice matched a season-high with nine points, and Jala Jordan and Romi Levy added eight apiece.
›› Shots would not fall for the Tigers early as Auburn finished the day at 35 percent from the floor (22-62) and just 4-of-19 on 3-pointers (21%). Alabama, meanwhile, hit 26-of-56 from the floor (46%) and knocked down seven treys. Auburn out-rebounded Alabama 38-33 and turned 14 offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points, and the Tigers got 20 points off their bench.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Be the Tigers' first over Texas A&M.
›› Be Auburn's highest-ranked win since defeating then-No. 7 Kentucky 66-61 on Jan. 3, 2016.
›› Be the 99th win for Auburn women's basketball at Auburn Arena.
AUBURN-TEXAS A&M SERIES
›› Texas A&M is 14-0 all-time against Auburn in a series that dates back to 2007. The Aggies are 12-0 against Auburn since joining the SEC in 2012-13 and 4-0 at Auburn Arena in league play.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 23, 2020 in College Station
No. 16 Texas A&M 84, Auburn 54
›› Daisa Alexander scored 15 points, but No. 16 Texas A&M pulled away in the fourth quarter for an 84-54 win Sunday afternoon at Reed Arena.
›› The Tigers kept things within striking distance for much of the second and third quarters, but an 11-2 run to open the fourth quarter put the game out of reach for Auburn.
›› Alexander's 15 points led the Tigers. Unique Thompson added 11 points and 8 rebounds.
›› Texas A&M shot 57.8 percent for the game (37-64) and hit 8-of-15 3-pointers (57.1%). The Aggies also controlled the glass, out-rebounding the Tigers 43-21. Auburn shot 38.6 percent for the game.
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
›› Texas A&M is 14-1 overall, 5-1 in SEC play. The Aggies are ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll and No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll, and currently are No. 16 in the NET.
›› The Aggies average 78.9 points/game while holding opponents to 60.7. A&M is the league's second-best shooting team at 48.3% from the floor, and they lead the league in 3-point shooting at 37.8%.
›› N'dea Jones is tied with Auburn's Unique Thompson for the SEC and national lead with 10 double-doubles on the season. Jones averages 10.6 rebounds and 13.0 points/game this season. Aaliyah Wilson is A&M's leading scorer with 14.4 points/game.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Senior forward Unique Thompson leads the nation with 14.2 rebounds per game this year and leads Auburn with 17.8 points/game. She leads the nation and the SEC in double-doubles with 10. Thompson pulled down her 1,000th career rebound against Belmont on Dec. 20 and is one of two active players nationally with over 1,000 career rebounds.
›› Thompson was unavailable the first three games of SEC play with medical issues, but made her return at Florida Jan. 17 and has recorded double-doubles in all three games since, including 22 points, 10 rebounds vs. Kentucky.
›› Two redshirt sophomore transfers that sat out last season are the Tigers' second- and third-leading scorers. Honesty Scott-Grayson (Baylor) has started all 14 games, averaging 11.9 points/game, and had a career-high 23 points at Ole Miss, 18 points vs. Belmont & Florida, 17 points at Alabama, and 16 points against both SFA and North Florida. Jordan is Auburn's third-leading scorer with 7.7 points/game; she's also the Tigers' leading shot-blocker (0.8/game).
›› Sophomores Annie Hughes and Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu have started the Tigers' last three games. Hughes had a career-high 17 points against North Florida on Dec. 17, and Robinson-Nwagwu scored a career-high 9 points in her first collegiate start at Florida on Jan. 17. Freshman Romi Levy rounds out the projected starters; she averaged 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, and she had a career-high 7 assists vs. Kentucky.
›› More than 63 percent of Auburn's scoring has come from freshmen and sophomores during the 2020-21 season.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn faces its second of three straight ranked opponents Sunday when it travels to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on No. 19 Arkansas. Game time is 2 p.m. CT at Bud Walton Arena.
Tigers host No. 8 Texas A&M Thursday
