NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After a break for final exams and an unexpected day off Sunday, the Auburn women's basketball team returns to the court for the first time in 10 days Wednesday night when they take on Belmont in Nashville.
Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT at the Curb Event Center; however, the game is the back end of a doubleheader with the Belmont men's team. Their game against Chattanooga begins at 5 p.m. CT with a minimum of 25 minutes between games, so it is likely the Tigers' game will begin later than scheduled.
The Tigers (5-3) are looking to pick up where they left off as they enter Wednesday's contest on a three-game winning streak. Last time out, they clinched the annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge for the SEC with a 77-66 win over Oklahoma State at Auburn Arena. With a 25-point, six-rebound performance against the Cowgirls, Auburn sophomore Aicha Coulibaly was named SEC Player of the Week.
Belmont (4-4) is also coming off a 10-day break; their last game was an 80-66 loss on the road at then-No. 10 Louisville. The Bruins have a win over SEC foe Ole Miss to their credit and have also faced 2021-22 Auburn opponents Arkansas and Georgia Tech. The teams met at Auburn Arena last season with Belmont earning a 78-57 win.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen will have the call from Nashville on WQSI 93.9 FM beginning 15 minutes prior to tip. The game can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the official Auburn Athletics mobile app.
›› The game can be seen on ESPN+, available via subscription.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Auburn shot for its highest percentage in almost three years as the Tigers led nearly from start to finish in a 77-66 win over Oklahoma State Sunday at Auburn Arena.
›› The Tigers (5-3) shot 60.4 percent from the field to win their third straight game and fifth in their last six contests. Auburn's victory was the sixth of the week for the SEC, clinching a second straight win for the conference in the annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
›› Sophomore Aicha Coulibaly topped the 20-point mark for the third straight game, pouring in a game-high 25 on 9-of-10 shooting; 17 of her 25 came in the second half. She also had five rebounds and a team-best three steals.
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson took charge from the beginning, posting a 22-point night while sharing the team lead with six rebounds. Sania Wells overcame early foul trouble to finish with 13 points, six boards and a team-best four assists. And Jala Jordan had her second straight productive game, scoring nine points along with four rebounds and three blocks.
›› The Tigers' 60.4-percent shooting night (29-of-48) was the best by an Auburn team since the 2018-19 squad shot 63.3 percent in a win at Elon. Auburn hit its first six shots and never really cooled off, shooting 66.7 percent in the first half. Auburn also out-rebounded Oklahoma State 32-30 and got 44 of its 77 points in the paint.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Be Auburn's second road win of the season.
›› Give Auburn a four-game winning streak for the first time since the 2018-19 season, when Auburn won nine straight from Nov. 25-Dec. 29.
›› Avenge a home loss to the Bruins from last season.
AUBURN-BELMONT SERIES
›› This is the fourth meeting between Auburn and Belmont in women's basketball, and the first in Nashville. Auburn is 2-1 all-time against the Bruins but dropped the last meeting between the teams last season.
LAST MEETING: Dec. 20, 2020, in Auburn
Belmont 78, Auburn 57
›› Auburn senior Unique Thompson had 20 points, 23 rebounds and hit a major milestone with her 1,000th career rebound, but the Tigers could not overcome turnover troubles in a 78-57 loss to Belmont at Auburn Arena.
›› Auburn, playing its third game in five days, turned the ball over a season-high 27 times, leading to 31 points for Belmont. The Tigers also saw the Bruins hit 11 3-pointers and shoot 50 percent from long range.
›› Thompson's effort was her second 20-point, 20-rebound game of the season; Auburn had only had five such games in program history heading into the year. Her 23 rebounds tied her career-high, which also ranks as the third-most in a single game in Auburn history. Honesty Scott-Grayson also had her third straight strong performance with a career-high 18 points along with four rebounds, four assists and a team-leading three steals. Sania Wells added eight points, and Annie Hughes had seven.
SCOUTING BELMONT
›› Belmont is 4-4 on the season with three of the four losses coming to Power-5 conference opponents on the road. The Bruins are 2-0 at home so far in 2021-22.
›› The Bruins average 62.4 points/game while giving up 61.8. Belmont leads the OVC and ranks 35th nationally in 3-pointers made per game (8.5).
›› Destinee Wells is the OVC's second-leading scorer at 17.5 points/game, and Jamilyn Kenney ranks sixth nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.9).
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 5-3 and has won three straight following a 77-66 victory over Oklahoma State on Dec. 5. Along with a victory at No. 18 Georgia Tech on Nov. 21, the Tigers have two wins over non-conference Power 5 opponents for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
›› Sophomore Aicha Coulibaly is Auburn's leading scorer and rebounder with 17.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. She has topped the 20-point mark in three straight contests, scoring a career-high 27 against Charleston Southern, 23 against North Florida and 25 vs. Oklahoma State. For her efforts against UNF and OSU, she was named SEC Player of the Week on Dec. 7.
›› Redshirt junior Honesty Scott-Grayson is averaging 13.3 points and 7.5 rebounds through eight games this year, and she has recorded two double-doubles. She was 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 has returned to her natural position of point guard and is averaging 10.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists; she averaged 3.3 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists last season.
›› Junior Annie Hughes and redshirt senior Kiyae' White have been key components of the starting lineup as well. Hughes is the only Tiger to appear in every game since the start of the 2019-20 season; 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.
›› Junior Jala Jordan has been exceptional on the defensive end, leading the Tigers with nine blocks and pulling down 3.5 rebounds in 13.4 minutes/game off the bench.
›› 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 looks 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. Wiggins earned her first Auburn start against Oklahoma State.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn returns home for their last two non-conference games before the holiday break, beginning with a 2 p.m. contest against Grambling State on Saturday, Dec. 18.
Auburn women back on the road at Belmont
