AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn women's basketball will play its third SEC game in five days Thursday night, facing its toughest test of the season so far as No. 4 Tennessee visits Auburn Arena for a 7 p.m. CT tip.
The first 500 students will receive a free Auburn headband as part of Auburn's College Vault Throwback Night promotion. The giveaway will be available in the student lobby near the Aubie Chow concession stand.
Auburn is coming off two straight tough games that saw the Tigers take fourth-quarter leads but find themselves unable to finish off the victory. Auburn led Alabama by as many as 4 and Kentucky by as many as 3 in the final period but came up short in both contests.
Tennessee is the SEC's only remaining unbeaten team in league play at 7-0 and comes in with their highest ranking in several years at No. 4 in the AP poll and No. 5 in the coaches' poll. The Lady Vols have won nine straight coming into Thursday's contest with their only loss on the season coming to defending national champion Stanford.
Tickets are available at AUBTix.com and at the Auburn Arena ticket office on gameday.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara will have the radio call beginning at 6:45 p.m. CT on WQSI 93.9 FM in Auburn. The game can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics mobile app.
›› Thursday's game can be seen on SEC Network + with Lyn Rollins and Hall-of-Famer Joe Ciampi calling the action. SEC Network + is available via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app for mobile devices and smart TVs.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Auburn rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to take a lead in the final five minutes, but the Tigers could not overcome a late Kentucky run in a 67-55 loss Tuesday night at Auburn Arena.
›› A 3-pointer by Honesty Scott-Grayson with 7:24 to play gave Auburn its first lead of the night at 48-45, and the Tigers still led by three, 53-50, with 4:39 remaining. But Auburn would make just one more shot the rest of the way as the Wildcats ended the game on a 17-2 run.
›› Aicha Coulibaly recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, both team highs. She also led Auburn with four steals. Honesty Scott-Grayson scored 10 points, all in the second half. Jala Jordan added nine points off the bench, and Mar'Shaun Bostic had a game-high four assists.
›› Missed layups by Auburn and second-chance opportunities for Kentucky proved to be the difference. UK got 16 offensive rebounds, the most by an Auburn opponent this season, turning those into 13 second-chance points. In total rebounds, Kentucky had 43 to Auburn's 34. The Wildcats also scored 13 points off 15 Auburn turnovers, nine of those coming in the first half. Auburn was 18-of-54 from the field (33.3%) and matched a season-high with seven 3-pointers.
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 six-game skid against Tennessee.
›› Be the Tigers' second top-25 victory of the season.
›› Give Auburn a top-5 win for the first time since the 1997 SEC Tournament when Auburn defeated No. 4 Georgia 75-47 in the quarterfinal.
AUBURN-TENNESSEE SERIES
›› This is the 59th meeting between Auburn and Tennessee. The Lady Vols hold a 47-11 advantage in the series that dates back to 1980, including a 15-5 lead in Auburn. UT has won six straight meetings.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 28, 2021, at Knoxville
#20 Tennessee 88, Auburn 54
›› Three Tigers scored in double figures, but No. 20 Tennessee's size and speed were too much in an 88-54 loss Sunday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena.
›› Alaina Rice led Auburn with 11 points and four assists and shared the team lead with five rebounds. Unique Thompson also had five rebounds along with 10 points, and Alycia Reese matched a season-high with 10 points as well. Romi Levy added eight points, and Honesty Scott-Grayson and Aicha Coulibaly each had three steals.
›› Tennessee shot 58 percent from the field, a season-high by an Auburn opponent, hitting 34-of-59 shots. Auburn was 21-of-67 (31%). The Tigers forced the Lady Vols into 18 turnovers, converting those into 17 points, but UT out-rebounded Auburn 47-29.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE
›› Tennessee is 18-1 overall and is the only remaining unbeaten in the SEC at 7-0. The Lady Vols' only loss this season was to Stanford on Dec. 18.
›› UT averages 71.5 points per game while allowing 54.5 this season. In SEC play, UT is the league's top defensive team at 53.4 points allowed per game.
›› Tennessee is the nation's top rebounding team, averaging 50.4 per game. They also lead the nation in field goal defense at 30.7%.
›› Jordan Horston leads the Lady Vols with 15.4 points per game. Three Lady Vols average nearly 8 rebounds per contest: Horston (9.8), Tamari Key (8.4) and Alexus Dye (7.9).
TENNESSEE-AUBURN TIES
›› Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper spent two years on Joe Ciampi's staff at Auburn (1999-2001) following her playing days at UT, and her husband and assistant coach, Jon Harper, is an Auburn graduate and spent three seasons as part of Ciampi's team as a manager and practice player.
›› Lady Vol assistant coach Samantha Williams was a four-year starter for Ciampi and the Tigers from 1992-96, finishing her career with 1,108 points.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 8-10, 0-7 in SEC play. The Tigers have dropped three heartbreakers in SEC road games so far, the last being a 68-63 loss at Florida where the Tigers led in the final minute. Auburn led midway through the fourth quarter Sunday against Alabama and again Tuesday vs. Kentucky but could not hold on.
›› 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 17.7 points/game. She is also the Tigers' top rebounder with 8.2 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 four double-doubles this season, including 14 points and 11 rebound vs. Kentucky. 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 12.5 points and 5.6 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 10.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Wells is the SEC's top free-throw shooter at .927 (51-55), which also ranks 6th nationally. She scored a career-high 20 points at Missouri on Jan. 6.
›› 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. Hughes scored a career-high 21 points and hit 5 3-pointers against Charleston Southern on Nov. 26. White had a season-high 9 rebounds at Mizzou.
›› Precious Johnson, a 6-5 transfer from Texas, joined the Tigers for the spring semester and made her Auburn debut Jan. 9 vs. LSU, then made her first collegiate start four days later at Florida, scoring 7 points along with 5 rebounds. She scored a career-high 9 points with 8 rebounds against Alabama on Jan. 23.
UP NEXT
›› The Tigers travel to Nashville for the second of three times this season as they will take on Vanderbilt at 2 p.m. CT Sunday.
Auburn's busy week continues with No. 4 Tennessee
