AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team will play its second straight home game Sunday afternoon when the Tigers welcome Missouri to Auburn Arena. Game time is noon CT with a national broadcast on SEC Network.
Sunday's game was originally scheduled for Jan. 10 but was postponed due to health and safety protocols. Fans with tickets for the original game date may use them for Sunday's game or exchange them for any remaining women's basketball game this season.
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 11:45 a.m. CT on WQSI 93.9 FM. The game can be heard online at AuburnTigers.com and the official Auburn Athletics app.
›› SEC Network will have a live national broadcast with Eric Frede and Christy Thomaskutty calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Auburn outscored the nation's top-ranked team in the second half, but a tough first quarter was too much to overcome as the Tigers fell to No. 2/1 South Carolina 77-58 Thursday night at Auburn Arena.
›› The Tigers couldn't get much of anything to fall in the first 15 minutes or so as South Carolina took advantage of Auburn's misfires and built a big early lead. But Auburn followed its worst shooting half in SEC play (19.4%) with its best (53.3%), outscoring the Gamecocks by 10 after halftime.
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson led Auburn with 15 points while also pulling down four rebounds. Unique Thompson added 10 points and eight rebounds along with a team-leading three steals. And Romi Levy was 3-of-5 from 3-point range for a nine-point effort; she also had five rebounds and led Auburn with three assists. Alaina Rice added eight points.
›› A disastrous first 14 minutes saw Auburn make just two of its first 28 shots as the Gamecocks – who were 14-of-22 (63.6%) over that same stretch - led by more than 30 midway through the second quarter. But from the 6:00 mark of the second quarter on, the Tigers hit 21-of-38 shots (55.3%).
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Be Auburn's third straight win over Missouri.
›› Improve Auburn's record to 14-13 on Super Bowl Sunday.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 27, 2020 in Columbia, Mo.
Auburn 95, Missouri 82
›› Unique Thompson set the Auburn career record with her 41st double-double, three players finished with 20-plus points, and Auburn got its first road SEC win of the season with a 95-82 victory at Missouri.
›› Auburn used a blistering third quarter, hitting their first 10 shots of the period, to pull ahead to as much as an 18-point lead, and Missouri would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way. The Tigers' 34 points in the third quarter was a school record for a single period, and Auburn's 95 points on the night were its most in an SEC game since 1990.
›› Thompson finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds to get her 21st double-double of the season and the 41st of her career, passing DeWanna Bonner for the all-time Auburn lead. Lauretta Freeman owns the single-season mark with 23.
›› Daisa Alexander was 7-of-9 from the floor for 21 points to go along with six assists. As a team, Auburn shot a season-high 59 percent (35-59) and hit 9-of-23 3-pointers (39.1%). The Tigers forced Mizzou into 20 turnovers, converting those into a season-high 28 points. Auburn also out-rebounded Missouri 35-25.
SCOUTING MISSOURI
›› Missouri is 6-7 overall, 2-6 in SEC play. The Tigers have SEC wins over Florida and Ole Miss this season.
›› The Tigers average 74.2 points/game while giving up 66.8/game. Mizzou is the SEC's top shooting team at 49.3% from the floor this year.
›› Aijha Blackwell is Missouri's leading scorer (14.3 ppg) and rebounder (11.3 rpg); she is one of five players in the SEC averaging a double-double (along with Auburn's Unique Thompson).
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Senior forward Unique Thompson leads the SEC and is second nationally with 13.6 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 fifth 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.
›› 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 18 points, 19 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 17 games, averaging 12.9 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 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds; 6.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in SEC play. She had 12 rebounds at Arkansas. Rice averages 6.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in SEC play, and Patton has averaged 6.7 points in league games.
SUPER BOWL SUNDAY NOTES
›› Auburn is 13-13 all-time on Super Bowl Sunday and has won its last two contests on the day of the big game. 2021 will mark the third straight year Auburn has played at home on Super Sunday after having played on the road seven consecutive years. The Tigers are 7-1 at home and 6-12 on the road.
›› This is the first time Auburn will face Missouri on Super Sunday. It is also the first time Auburn will face a team from the same state as one of the participating Super Bowl teams (Kansas City).
›› The Tigers are 1-0 when Kansas City is playing in the Super Bowl (2020: Auburn def. Vanderbilt, 70-62; Kansas City def. San Francisco, 31-20). Auburn is also 1-0 when Tampa Bay is playing in the Super Bowl (2003: Auburn def. Arkansas, 64-36; Tampa Bay def. Oakland, 48-21).
›› Auburn is 1-1 when the Super Bowl is played in Tampa - 2001 (Auburn lost at Arkansas, 77-68; Baltimore def. NY Giants, 34-7); 2009 (Auburn def. LSU, 66-55; Pittsburgh def. Arizona, 27-23).
›› NFC teams have a 7-6 lead when Auburn wins its game that day, and AFC teams are 8-5 when Auburn comes up short.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn travels to Georgia on Thursday, Feb. 11. Game time is 6 p.m. CT at Stegeman Coliseum.
Auburn women host Missouri Sunday
