AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn women's basketball faces its third straight ranked opponent and its toughest test of the season Thursday night when No. 2/1 South Carolina visits Auburn Arena. Game time is 6 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 5:45 p.m. CT on WQSI 93.9 FM. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the official Auburn Athletics app.
›› Thursday's game can be seen on SEC Network + with J.J. Jackson and Mimi Hill calling the action. SEC Network + is available via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Unique Thompson finished with 18 points and 19 rebounds, but a great start for Auburn gave way to a hot-shooting Arkansas team as the Tigers fell to the 19th-ranked Razorbacks 77-67 Sunday afternoon.
›› The Tigers led by as many as 13 points midway through the first half, but a big run by the Razorbacks in the second quarter gave Arkansas a lead it would not relinquish.
›› Thompson's 18-point, 19-rebound effort was her 11th double-double of the season and 53rd of her career. Honesty Scott-Grayson added 17 points and led Auburn with three assists, and Keya Patton scored 10. Romi Levy had a career-high 12 rebounds along with eight points.
›› The Tigers pulled down a season-high 50 rebounds to Arkansas' 30 and turned 20 offensive boards into 20 second-chance points, both season-highs. But the Tigers shot 34 percent from the floor (23-67) while Arkansas was at 44 percent (26-59), and the Razorbacks hit 11 3-pointers to Auburn's two. Auburn had a great night at the free-throw line, hitting 19-of-21.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Be Auburn's first win over a top-5 opponent since March 1, 1997 (def. #4 Georgia, 75-47, in SEC Tournament).
›› Be Auburn's third all-time win over a No. 1-ranked opponent (last: 81-69 vs. #1 Louisiana Tech, March 30, 1990 in Knoxville, Tenn.).
›› Snap a 10-game skid against South Carolina.
AUBURN-SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES
›› South Carolina owns a 25-21 edge over Auburn in the series that dates back to 1980. Auburn leads 12-10 in games played at home.
›› The Gamecocks have won the last 10 meetings dating back to the 2012-13 season.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 13, 2020, in Columbia
No. 1 South Carolina 79, Auburn 53
›› Unique Thompson scored 12 points and added eight rebounds, but Auburn fell on the road to No. 1 South Carolina 79-53 at Colonial Life Arena.
›› South Carolina hit their first five 3-pointers of the game, shot better than 50 percent from behind the arc for the game and had five players in double figures as Auburn battled to the end but came up short against the nation's top-ranked team.
›› Thompson finished with 12 points and eight rebounds on a night when both were tough to come by.
›› South Carolina shot 49.2 percent for the game while Auburn was 22-for-65 (33.8%) from the floor. Auburn only got to the free-throw line four times, making two, while the Gamecocks were 11-of-16. Both teams made at least half their 3-pointers; Auburn was 7-for-14 while Carolina was 10-of-19. The Gamecocks had 39 rebounds to Auburn's 34 and took advantage of their quickness in transition, scoring 20 fast-break points.
SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
›› South Carolina is 14-1 overall, 9-0 in SEC play. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 2 in the AP poll and No. 1 in the Coaches' poll.
›› The Gamecocks average 82.7 points per game and hold opponents to 59.0; their +23.7 scoring margin leads the SEC. As a team they shoot 45.9% from the floor and lead the league with 50.3 rebounds/game.
›› Aliyah Boston is the league's second-leading rebounder - behind only Auburn's Unique Thompson - with 11.5 rebounds/game. She also scores 13.7 points/game. Zia Cooke leads the Gamecocks with 16.1 points/game, and Destanni Henderson is the SEC's leader in assists with 5.7/game.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Senior forward Unique Thompson leads the SEC and the nation nationally with 14.0 rebounds per game this year and leads Auburn with 17.8 points/game. She has 11 double-doubles on the season, which ranks second in the SEC and fourth nationally. 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. She is 49 rebounds away from breaking Becky Jackson's Auburn career record that has stood since 1984.
›› 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 four of five games since, including 19 points, 18 rebounds at Arkansas.
›› Two redshirt sophomore transfers that sat out last season are the Tigers' second- and third-leading scorers. Honesty Scott-Grayson (Baylor) has started all 16 games, averaging 12.8 points/game, and had a career-high 23 points at Ole Miss. She is averaging 15.0 points in SEC play. Jordan is Auburn's third-leading scorer with 7.7 points/game; she's also the Tigers' leading shot-blocker (0.7/game).
›› Freshman Romi Levy and sophomore Alaina Rice have worked their way into the starting lineup, along with junior Keya Patton. Levy averages 5.9 points and 4.3 rebounds; 6.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in SEC play. She had 12 rebounds at Arkansas. Rice averages 6.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in SEC play, and Patton has averaged 7.2 points in league games.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn hosts Missouri on Sunday, Feb. 7, at Noon CT. The game was originally scheduled for Jan. 10 but postponed due to COVID-19 issues. SEC Network will have a live national broadcast.
Tigers host top-ranked Gamecocks Thursday
