AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team faces a quick turnaround for its next home game as Alabama State visits Auburn Arena for a 7 p.m. CT Tuesday tip.
The Tigers (0-2) will be less than 48 hours removed from returning home after their last game, a 57-44 setback at Old Dominion Sunday afternoon. Auburn led at the half and got the first career double-doubles from Aicha Coulibaly and Honesty Scott-Grayson, but foul trouble and struggles from the floor in the second half allowed Old Dominion to pull away late in Auburn's first road contest of the season.
Alabama State is also 0-2 after a pair of road losses at Mississippi State and South Florida last week. This will be the 20th all-time meeting between Auburn and Alabama State and the 12th at home; Auburn has won the previous 19 meetings.
Tickets are available on game day at the Auburn Arena Ticket Office or in advance by visiting AUBTix.com or calling 855-282-2010.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara will have the radio call on WQSI 93.9 FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and via the official Auburn Athletic mobile app.
›› The game can be seen on SEC Network + with Brad Law and Joe Ciampi calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Aicha Coulibaly and Honesty Scott-Grayson picked up their first career double-doubles, but Auburn could not hold onto a halftime lead in a 57-44 loss at Old Dominion Sunday afternoon.
›› The Tigers (0-2) led for most of the first half but went cold early in the second, and the Monarchs (2-0) took advantage, outscoring Auburn 22-8 in the third quarter to take a lead they would not relinquish. Foul trouble plagued the Tigers again with four players finishing with four fouls.
›› Auburn shot 25.4 percent (15-59) from the field and hit just 1-of-14 3-point attempts (7.1%). Free-throw shooting was improved from game one as Auburn was 13-of-19 at the stripe. ODU out-rebounded Auburn 48-43, turning 13 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points with nine of those coming in the second half.
›› Coulibaly led Auburn with 17 points and 14 rebounds, both career-highs, for her first collegiate double-double. Scott-Grayson finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the first double-double of her career as well.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Give coach Johnnie Harris her first head coaching victory.
›› Improve Auburn's record against Alabama State to 20-0.
›› Be the 99th women's basketball win at Auburn Arena.
AUBURN-ALABAMA STATE SERIES
›› This is the 20th meeting between Auburn and Alabama State. The Tigers have won the previous 19 meetings between the teams.
LAST MEETING: Dec. 29, 2018, at Auburn
Auburn 83, Alabama State 50
›› Brooke Moore scored a career-high 23 points, and the Auburn women's basketball team pulled away early and cruised to an 83-50 victory over Alabama State at Auburn Arena.
›› Despite shooting a season-low 31.4 percent from the field, the Tigers hit 10 3-pointers and found other ways to score, going 29-of-36 (80.6%) at the free-throw line. It marked the most free throws made in a game by Auburn since 2008.
›› Auburn scored 34 points off 24 Alabama State turnovers and got 49 points from the bench, which played its most minutes of the season. The Tigers out-rebounded ASU 42-38 and had 17 steals – three apiece from Unique Thompson, Crystal Primm and Erica Sanders.
›› Moore's 23 points came on five 3-point field goals, one two-pointer and six free throws. Crystal Primm added 12 points, and Robyn Benton scored 11 off the bench. Unique Thompson pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds despite playing just 20 minutes. Freshman Erin Howard tied a career-high with seven rebounds for the second straight game.
SCOUTING ALABAMA STATE
›› Alabama State is 0-2 after facing two top programs in their first two contests. The Hornets fell at Mississippi State 91-62 and at No. 21 South Florida 72-37 in their first two games.
›› The Hornets were picked to finish second in the SWAC in a vote of the league's coaches. Ayana Emmanuel and Shmya Ward were All-SWAC First Team preseason picks, and Jayla Crawford was named to the second team.
›› Emmanuel leads the Hornets with 11.0 points per game while Crawford has added 8.5 per contest. Jada Nneji is the Hornets' leading rebounder with 7.0 per game.
›› Freda Freeman-Jackson is in her 24th year as ASU's head coach. She was the head girls' coach at Loachapoka High School in the early 90s alongside boys' coach Larry DiChiara, who now serves as the color analyst on Auburn women's basketball radio broadcasts. Both won state titles at Loachapoka.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 0-2 after dropping a heartbreaker in the home opener to Georgia Southern and a tough road game at Old Dominion.
›› The Tigers return 3 starters and 9 letterwinners from its 2020-21 team that finished 5-19 overall, 0-15 in SEC play.
›› Redshirt junior Honesty Scott-Grayson is the Tigers' leading returner in most statistical categories: scoring (14.5 ppg), rebounding (4.1 rpg), assists (1.7 apg), steals (2.1 APG) and shooting (.406 FG/.301 3FG/.761 FT). She is averaging 10.5 points and 9.0 rebounds through two games this year.
›› Junior Sania Wells and sophomore Aicha Coulibaly are expected to have a major impact on the Tigers in 2021-22. Wells will return to her natural position of point guard; she averaged 3.3 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists last season. Coulibaly averaged 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds as a freshman.
›› Wells leads the Tigers in scoring (15.0) and assists (3.0) through two contests. Coulibaly is the team's top rebounder with 10.5 per game.
›› Junior Annie Hughes and redshirt senior Kiyae' White look to be a part of the Tigers' regular rotation as well. Hughes is the only Tiger to appear in every game each of the last two seasons; she averaged 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 20-21. White missed all but one game last season, but as a redshirt sophomore in 2019-20, she averaged 4.0 points and 4.8 rebounds.
›› The Tigers will be without sophomore Romi Levy for the 2021-22 season after she suffered a torn ACL in practice just before the start of the season.
›› Transfers Xaria Wiggins and Paris Mullins look to provide depth off the bench for the Tigers, along with freshmen Amoura Graves and Mar'Shaun Bostic. Redshirt sophomore walk-on Adaora Onwumelu made her collegiate debut at Old Dominion with five rebounds in seven minutes.
AGAINST IN-STATE FOES
›› In records dating back to 1971-72, Auburn is 258-68 all-time against opponents from the state of Alabama. Alabama State is the sixth-most played opponent in-state, behind Alabama (95 games), South Alabama (42), Troy and UAB (36 each), and Tuskegee (22).
UP NEXT
›› The Tigers play their next two contests on the road, beginning with a short trek to Atlanta to take on No. 18 Georgia Tech on Sunday, Nov. 21. Game time is 3 p.m. CT at McCamish Pavilion.
Women's hoops at home Tuesday vs. Alabama State
