AUBURN, Ala. – After nearly a two-week break from basketball, the Auburn women's team is ready to kick off Southeastern Conference play Sunday afternoon with a rivalry matchup at Alabama. Game time is 4 p.m. CT at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa.
The Tigers (8-3) head into SEC play having won their last six games, the last being a 66-54 victory over Kennesaw State at home Dec. 20. After health and safety protocols forced the postponement of Auburn's scheduled SEC opener vs. Kentucky, it will have been 13 days since the Tigers last took the floor at game time Sunday.
Auburn enters league play with the SEC's third-leading scorer in sophomore Aicha Coulibaly, who averages 18.3 points/game. She has scored 20-plus in five of the last six games, including a 23-point, 11-rebound day against Kennesaw State in the Tigers' last game.
Alabama (9-3, 0-1 SEC) opened SEC play Thursday at No. 7 Tennessee, pushing the Lady Vols for three quarters before UT pulled away for a 62-44 win in Knoxville. The Tide had a long layoff of their own before playing UT; their last two games before the holiday break were canceled, and they had not played since Dec. 13.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara will have the radio call from Coleman Coliseum beginning at 3:45 p.m. CT on WQSI 93.9 FM in Auburn. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics mobile app.
›› Sunday's game will air on SEC Network with Sam Gore and Tamika Catchings calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Aicha Coulibaly picked up her second double-double of the season to lead three Tigers in double figures as Auburn defeated Kennesaw State 66-54 to wrap up non-conference play.
›› The Tigers (8-3) carried a six-game winning streak into the holiday break and the start of SEC play after a strong defensive effort through most of three quarters helped Auburn build a big lead. Kennesaw State (4-7) rallied late and cut a 26-point deficit to single digits, but five straight points from Jala Jordan and a dagger 3-pointer from Annie Hughes put the game out of reach.
›› Coulibaly finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds, her fifth time in the last six games to top the 20-point mark. She also had three assists and a pair of steals along with knocking down a 3-pointer.
›› Jordan had her second straight big performance with 17 points and six rebounds off the bench; she also went 5-6 at the free-throw line on a day when Auburn struggled at the stripe. Sania Wells came back after missing Saturday's game with Grambling to post an 11-point, three-steal day. Hughes recorded a career-high 7 assists, playing all 40 minutes for the third time this season.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Give Auburn a seven-game winning streak for the first time since the 2018-19 season, when Auburn won nine straight from Nov. 25-Dec. 29.
›› Give the Tigers a win in an SEC opener for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
›› Be head coach Johnnie Harris' first SEC victory.
›› Snap a four-game losing streak to Alabama.
›› Be Auburn's first win in Tuscaloosa since the 2018-19 season.
›› Be Auburn's first SEC win since Feb. 25, 2020, at Missouri.
AUBURN-ALABAMA SERIES
›› This is the 96th meeting between Auburn and Alabama in women's basketball, the first of two scheduled contests this season. It is the second-most played women's basketball series in the SEC, behind only Ole Miss-Mississippi State.
›› Auburn is 53-42 all-time against Alabama, but the Crimson Tide lead 25-18 in games played in Tuscaloosa. Alabama has won the last four meetings.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 14, 2021, at Auburn
Alabama 92, Auburn 78
›› A combined 49 points from Unique Thompson and Honesty Scott-Grayson were part of Auburn's best offensive night of SEC play, but Alabama's outside game was too much in a 92-78 Auburn loss Sunday at Auburn Arena.
›› The Tigers shot 50.8 percent from the field and had a season-low seven turnovers, but Alabama – led by 41 points from senior Jasmine Walker – hit 15 3-pointers and controlled the glass to earn its second win over Auburn this season.
›› Scott-Grayson led Auburn with 25 points, giving her a combined 55 points in her last two home games after a 30-point effort against Missouri. Thompson added 24 points on 12-of-18 shooting, along with a team-high six rebounds.
›› Freshman Aicha Coulibaly also contributed a season-high 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting; it was her second SEC game in double figures.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
›› Alabama is 9-3 overall, 0-1 in SEC play. The Crimson Tide played their first game in nearly three weeks Thursday night at Tennessee, falling 62-44 to the 7th-ranked Lady Vols.
›› Alabama averages 75.7 points/game while holding opponents to 54.3. The Tide are the SEC's top free-throw shooting team at 73.1% and also makes 7.7 3-pointers per game, third-best in the SEC.
›› Brittany Davis is Alabama's top scorer with 15.5 points/game; she also leads the Tide with 6.9 rebounds/game.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 8-3 and enters SEC play on a six-game winning streak. The Tigers last played on Dec. 20, which will make Sunday's game at Alabama their first game in 13 days.
›› 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 leads Auburn and is third in the SEC in scoring with 18.3 points/game. She is also the Tigers' top rebounder with and 7.9 rebounds per game. She has topped the 20-point mark in five of the last six contests, scoring a career-high 27 against Charleston Southern, 23 against North Florida, 25 vs. Oklahoma State, 24 at Belmont and 23 vs. Kennesaw 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 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds through 10 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, 3.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Wells is the SEC's top free-throw shooter at .925 (37-40), which also ranks 14th 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 and leads the SEC in minutes played (34.7). 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 11 blocks and pulling down 4.8 rebounds in 15.8 minutes/game off the bench. She recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds against Grambling on Dec. 18.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn continues a two-game SEC road swing with a trip to Missouri on Thursday, Jan. 6. Game time is 7 p.m. CT at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.
Auburn women's hoops opens SEC play at Alabama
