AUBURN, Ala. – It will be a family reunion inside Auburn Arena Sunday afternoon as the Auburn women's basketball team takes on rival Alabama at 3 p.m. CT.
Longtime Auburn head coach Joe Ciampi will be honored in a pregame ceremony that will include a banner hung from the arena rafters noting his accomplishments in his 25-year tenure. It's also Alumni Weekend and a celebration of 50 years of Auburn women's basketball as more than 50 former players along with former coaches, managers, administrators and support staff will be recognized on the court at halftime.
The first 500 fans at the Scholarship Entrance will receive a replica of the Joe Ciampi banner along with a Ruthie Bolton replica jersey t-shirt. Tickets are available at AUBTix.com and at the arena ticket office on gameday.
Three weeks into SEC play, the Tigers are playing just their second home game after playing four of their first five on the road. Auburn had an off day last week; their last outing was a 71-53 loss at Texas A&M last Sunday.
Alabama enters Sunday's game looking for a victory as well; the Tide have dropped five straight, including a 99-71 setback to Arkansas at home Thursday night. Auburn and Alabama met three weeks ago in Tuscaloosa with the Tide holding on for a 56-53 win.
Sunday marks the first of three home games in five days for the Tigers. Auburn will take on Kentucky at 7 p.m. CT Tuesday in a game that was rescheduled from Dec. 30, then face No. 5 Tennessee at 7 p.m. CT Thursday. Tickets are available for both games; fans may use their tickets from the Dec. 30 postponement for admission to Tuesday's game.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara will have the radio call beginning at 2:45 p.m. CT on WQSI 93.9 FM. The game can also be heard at AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics app.
›› Sunday's game will air live on ESPNU with Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck on the call.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Auburn outscored Texas A&M in the second half, but a dreadful second quarter was too much to overcome in a 71-53 Aggie win Sunday afternoon at Reed Arena.
›› The Tigers fought early foul trouble to all of its bigs, and Texas A&M took advantage of its size, outscoring Auburn 25-6 in the second quarter to take a 44-18 halftime lead. Auburn outscored the Aggies 35-27 in the second half, but the deficit was too large.
›› Despite playing limited minutes, Coulibaly led Auburn with 15 points and nine rebounds. Sania Wells added 10 points, and Honesty Scott-Grayson shook off a scoreless first half to finish with nine points and six rebounds.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Be head coach Johnnie Harris' first SEC victory.
›› Be Auburn's first SEC win since Feb. 25, 2020, at Missouri.
›› Snap a five-game skid against Alabama.
AUBURN-ALABAMA SERIES
›› This is the 97th meeting between Auburn and Alabama in women's basketball, the second 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 53-43 all-time against Alabama, including a 31-12 lead in Auburn and a 7-4 edge in Auburn Arena. Alabama has won the last five meetings.
LAST MEETING: Jan. 2, 2022, at Tuscaloosa
Alabama 56, Auburn 53
›› Aicha Coulibaly picked up her third double-double of the season, and Auburn cut a 13-point deficit to three in the final minute but could not overtake Alabama, falling 56-53 in the SEC opener at Coleman Coliseum.
›› Sania Wells knocked down a 3-pointer with a minute to play to cut Alabama's lead to 54-51 and got a stop on the Tide's ensuing possession, but the Tigers were unable to get a good look, and Alabama made late free throws to secure the win.
›› Coulibaly recorded her second straight double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds; it was her third of the season. Honesty Scott-Grayson also had 17 points to share the team lead. Sania Wells added nine points.
›› Auburn shot 30.0 percent from the field (18-60) and was just 3-of-15 from long range. Alabama was not much better at 31 percent overall, 22.2 percent on 3-pointers. Turnovers were costly for Auburn early; Alabama got 10 points of 12 Auburn giveaways in the opening 20 minutes. The Tide out-rebounded Auburn 46-43.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
›› Alabama is 10-8 overall, 1-6 in SEC play. The Tide have dropped five straight, the most recent a 99-71 loss to Arkansas at home Thursday night.
›› Alabama averages 72.2 points per game while giving up 61.8/game. In SEC play, the Tide are scoring 62.0 and giving up 74.6.
›› Brittany Davis leads the Tide with 15.8 poins per game, which ranks 10th in the SEC. She is also Bama's leading rebounder with 7.3 per game. Davis and Hannah Barber rank third and fourth, respectively, in the SEC in 3-pointers made with 2.4 and 2.3.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 8-8, 0-5 in SEC play. The Tigers have dropped three heartbreakers in SEC road games so far, the last being a 68-63 loss at Florida last Thursday where the Tigers led in the final minute.
›› 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 fourth in the SEC in scoring with 17.8 points/game. She is also the Tigers' top rebounder with 8.1 rebounds per game (7th SEC). She has topped the 20-point mark in six contests, scoring a career-high 27 against Charleston Southern, 23 against North Florida, 25 vs. Oklahoma State, 24 at Belmont, 23 vs. Kennesaw State, and 24 at Florida. She also has three double-doubles this season, including 17 points and 12 rebounds at Alabama. 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 6.0 rebounds, 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 10.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Wells is the SEC's top free-throw shooter at .925 (49-53), which also ranks 8th nationally. She scored a career-high 20 points at Missouri on Jan. 6.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn has another game in about 48 hours as No. 21 Kentucky visits Auburn Arena Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT. The game was rescheduled from Dec. 30.
›› The Tigers have a third game this week as No. 5 Tennessee travels to the Plains Thursday for a 7 p.m. CT tip.
Ciampi, alumni celebration Sunday as Tigers host Alabama
