AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team plays its second of four consecutive home games Tuesday night when North Florida visits Auburn Arena. Game time is set for 7 p.m. CT.
Auburn (3-3) looks to build on the momentum from a 91-42 rout of Charleston Southern Friday afternoon that saw all 13 Auburn players play significant minutes. In fact, every player dressed for Auburn scored and had a rebound in the game, led by a career-high 27 points from Aicha Couilbaly and 21 from Annie Hughes.
North Florida (5-2) is one of the nation's top scoring teams, averaging 84.5 points per game to rank 10th nationally. The Ospreys won on the road at College of Charleston Saturday 86-76.
Auburn and UNF met last season at Auburn Arena with the Tigers earning a 94-81 win; Hughes had her previous career-high in that game with 17 points.
Reserved tickets are $8 and general admission is $6 for all non-conference games; tickets are available at the box office on gameday or in advance by visiting AUBTix.com.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara will have the radio call of Tuesday's game; airtime is 6:45 p.m. CT on WQSI 93.9 FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics mobile app.
›› Tuesday's game can be seen on SEC Network + with Brad Law and Joe Ciampi calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Auburn sophomore Aicha Coulibaly and junior Annie Hughes had career-best scoring days as the Tigers ran away from Charleston Southern 91-42 Friday afternoon at Auburn Arena.
›› A season-best crowd of 2,338 saw Auburn (3-3) get production from all 13 players on its roster as the Tigers cruised to their third win in four games.
›› Coulibaly scored 27 points, shattering her previous career-best of 17; in fact, she had equaled her previous high by halftime. She also had nine rebounds, three steals and two assists, and she was 11-of-14 at the free-throw line. Hughes, meanwhile, hit a career-best five 3-pointers to score a career-best 21 points; she also shared the team lead with five steals and added four rebounds and two assists.
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson also filled the stat sheet in all areas, scoring five points but also contributing nine rebounds, a team-high six assists and five steals, along with a block. All 13 Auburn players scored and had a rebound in the game. The Tigers shot a season-best 44.6 percent as a team (29-65) and hit 7-of-13 3-pointers (53.8%). Auburn also made 26 free throws on 35 attempts, season-highs in both categories.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Move the Tigers above .500 for the first time this season.
›› Be Auburn's second win over North Florida in as many seasons.
AUBURN-NORTH FLORIDA SERIES
›› This is just the second meeting between Auburn and North Florida in women's basketball. The teams met last season in Auburn Arena with the Tigers earning a 94-81 win.
LAST MEETING: Dec. 17, 2020, in Auburn
Auburn 94, North Florida 81
›› Five Tigers scored in double-figures as Auburn topped the 90-point mark for the second time in 2020-21 with a 94-81 win over North Florida at Auburn Arena.
›› Unique Thompson led Auburn with 19 points and 18 rebounds, her sixth straight double-double and the 48th of her career. Her 18 rebounds were the most in a home game in her Auburn career; she also contributed three assists and two steals.
›› Hughes hit for a career-high 17 points and matched a career-high with seven rebounds, knocking down three 3-pointers for the second time in three games. She also shared the team lead with three steals.
›› Redshirt sophomore Honesty Scott-Grayson scored 16 points for the second straight night. She also had three steals. Freshman Romi Levy also had a career-high 12 points along with five rebounds, and Jala Jordan came up just short of her first career double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds. Alaina Rice added nine points off the bench, her best at Auburn, and Kira Lowery led the Tigers with five assists and a career-best three steals.
SCOUTING NORTH FLORIDA
›› North Florida is 5-2 on the season. The Ospreys' only two losses have come to ACC foes Florida State and Clemson.
›› The Ospreys are the No. 10 scoring team in the nation, averaging 84.9 points/game. They shoot 48.5% from the floor (11th NCAA) and are third nationally in assists per game (20.3).
›› Rhetta Moore is the Ospreys' leading scorer with 19.9 points/game, which ranks 21st nationally. Jazz Bond is right behind her with 19.1 points/game, 35th in the nation. Moore is one of the nation's best 3-point shooters - she is 8th nationally in 3-pointers per game (3.5) and 6th in the country in 3-point percentage (56.8%).
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 3-3 after seeing all 13 players score in a 91-42 victory over Charleston Southern on Friday afternoon at home.
›› 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 averaging 11.8 points and 8.3 rebounds through six games this year, and she has recorded two double-doubles. She is the Tigers' leading returner from 2020-21 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).
›› 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 assists (2.7) and is third in scoring (10.0) through six games. Coulibaly is the team's second-leading rebounder with 8.2 per game and the team's leading scorer with 14.8/game; she had a career-high 27 points against Charleston Southern.
›› 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. Hughes scored a career-high 21 points and hit 5 3-pointers against Charleston Southern on Nov. 26.
›› 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.
WHOLE TEAM EFFORT
›› All 13 players scored at least one point and had at least one rebounds in the Tigers' 91-42 win over Charleston Southern on Nov. 26.
›› The last time every available Auburn player scored and had a rebound in a game was Nov. 6, 2018, against Grambling State, a 97-48 Auburn win.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn will compete in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge for the fourth time, hosting Oklahoma State on Sunday, Dec. 5. Game time is 2 p.m. CT at Auburn Arena.
Tigers welcome North Florida Tuesday night
