AUBURN, Ala. – The home stretch of non-conference play begins Saturday afternoon for Auburn women's basketball as the Tigers host Grambling State at 2 p.m. CT.
Fans can arrive early and pick up an exclusive Aubie Claus holiday mug at the Scholarship entrance. In addition, a face painter will be in attendance in the Kids' Zone. Tickets are available at the ticket office on gameday or in advance by visiting AUBTix.com.
The Tigers (6-3) enter Saturday's contest on a four-game win streak after a 71-62 road victory at Belmont Wednesday night. Sophomore Aicha Coulibaly has been red hot, scoring 20-plus points in four straight games, including 24 against the Bruins. At 17.9 points per game, she ranks fourth in the SEC in scoring.
Grambling (2-6) has dropped six straight games, all on the road. Their last outing was a 77-47 loss at Wichita State on Dec. 11. Auburn and Grambling have met three times previously; Auburn has won all three meetings.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara will have the radio call on WQSI 93.9 FM beginning at 1:45 p.m. The game can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics mobile app.
›› The game can be seen on SEC Network +, available via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app for mobile devices and smart TVs.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Auburn had four players in double-figures and shook off early rust from a long layoff as the Tigers ran their winning streak to four games with a 71-62 victory over Belmont Wednesday night at the Curb Event Center.
›› The Tigers (6-3) withstood several second-half runs by the Bruins (4-5) but never surrendered the lead as the defense came up with big stops and multiple players contributed on both ends of the court.
›› Sophomore Aicha Coulibaly recorded her fourth straight game in double-figures with 24 points; she also had six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Honesty Scott-Grayson added 19 points, nine rebounds and a team-high four assists and three steals.
›› Sania Wells had 13 points and was once again perfect at the free-throw line (6-of-6), and Jala Jordan scored a season-high 10 points with a career-best nine rebounds. Annie Hughes added a career-high 10 rebounds along with three points and three assists.
›› Auburn shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the field and hit 17-of-25 free throws (68.0%). But most importantly, they held the OVC's best 3-point shooting team to 6-of-27 (22.2%) from long-range. The Tigers out-rebounded the Bruins 43-37 and scored 15 points off 13 Bruin turnovers.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Give Auburn a five-game winning streak for the first time since the 2018-19 season, when Auburn won nine straight from Nov. 25-Dec. 29.
›› Improve the Tigers' all-time non-conference record at Auburn Arena to 66-10.
›› Be Auburn's fifth straight home victory.
AUBURN-GRAMBLING SERIES
›› This is the fourth meeting between Auburn and Grambling in women's basketball; all three have taken place on the Plains. Auburn is 3-0 in the previous meetings.
LAST MEETING: Nov. 6, 2018, in Auburn
Auburn 97, Grambling 48
›› Janiah McKay and Unique Thompson both recorded double-doubles as the Auburn women's basketball team opened the 2018-19 season with a 97-48 victory over Grambling at Auburn Arena.
›› Led by 16 points from McKay, Auburn had six players in double figures, the first time for the Tigers to hit that mark since the 2008-09 season.
›› Along with the 16 points from McKay and Benton, the Tigers got 15 points from redshirt junior Crystal Primm in her Auburn debut, 14 points from Thompson, and 13 each from Daisa Alexander and Emari Jones.
›› Thompson posted her eighth career double-double with a team-high 13 rebounds to go with her 14 points. And McKay recorded the second double-double of her career, notching 10 assists to go with her 16 points. That game was Auburn's last with two double-doubles in game until Honesty Scott-Grayson and Aicha Coulibaly accomplished the feat at Old Dominion earlier this year.
SCOUTING GRAMBLING
›› Grambling is 2-6 on the year having lost six straight - all on the road - heading into Saturday's game. The Lady Tigers won their first two games of the season at home but have not played a home game since Nov. 17.
›› The Lady Tigers average 55.8 points/game while giving up 74.6. Auburn will be GSU's second SEC opponent of the season; they faced Florida on Nov. 19.
›› Alexus Holt is third in the SWAC in scoring, averaging 14.3 points/game.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 6-3 and has won four straight following a 71-62 victory at Belmont on Dec. 15.
›› With wins at No. 18 Georgia Tech on Nov. 21 and at home over Oklahoma State on Dec. 5, 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 second-leading rebounder with 17.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. She has topped the 20-point mark in four straight contests, scoring a career-high 27 against Charleston Southern, 23 against North Florida, 25 vs. Oklahoma State and 24 at Belmont. 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 13.9 points and a team-leading 7.7 rebounds through nine 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 10.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Wells is the SEC's top free-throw shooter at .947 (36-38), which also ranks 6th nationally.
›› 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 10 blocks and pulling down 4.1 rebounds in 14.1 minutes/game off the bench. She missed a double-double by one rebound with 10 points and a career-high 9 boards at Belmont on Dec. 15.
›› 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 closes out non-conference play with a Monday matinee against Kennesaw State. Game time is noon CT at Auburn Arena.
Auburn women welcome Grambling Saturday
