AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team returns to the court at Auburn Arena Thursday night as they host Mississippi State at 7 p.m. CT.
The first 500 fans at the Scholarship Entrance can pick up a free DeWanna Bonner replica jersey t-shirt. Tickets are available at AUBTix.com and at the Auburn Arena ticket office on gameday.
Auburn looks to bounce back after dropping an 81-66 decision at Vanderbilt Sunday afternoon. The Tigers mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter, cutting a 27-point deficit to as few as 12 in the final minutes, but were unable to overcome a hot start by the Commodores.
Mississippi State comes in having won two straight, including a 20-point win over Texas A&M Sunday. The Tigers seek their first win over the Bulldogs since 2014; last season, Auburn couldn't hold onto a halftime lead in Starkville as they fell 81-68.
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 JJ Jackson and Hall-of-Famer Joe Ciampi calling the action. SECN+ is available via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app.
LAST TIME OUT
›› A hot-shooting Vanderbilt team pulled away early as Auburn fell to the Commodores 81-66 Sunday afternoon at Memorial Gym.
›› The Tigers ran into early foul and turnover trouble, and Vanderbilt could hardly miss, hitting 20-of-23 shots over a 17-minute stretch to build a 25-point halftime lead they would not relinquish. Auburn was able to cut what had been as much as a 27-point deficit down to as few as 12 late in the fourth, but the Tigers could get no closer despite their highest-scoring second half of the year.
›› Aicha Coulibaly led Auburn with 21 points, scoring 15 of those in the second half, and Honesty Scott-Grayson added 14. Each player had a team-leading five rebounds. Mar'Shaun Bostic and Annie Hughes had four assists apiece, and Coulibaly led the Tigers with four steals. Jala Jordan added nine points and three blocks.
›› Auburn forced Vandy into 27 turnovers, converting those into 23 points, but the Commodores took greater advantage of early Auburn miscues, converting 15 turnovers into 24 points. Vandy shot a season-best 58.3 percent from the field and knocked down 7-of-10 3-point attempts. Auburn, meanwhile, hit for 44 percent from the floor. The Tigers were held to a season-low 23 rebounds.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Improve the Tigers to 8-4 at home this season.
›› Snap a 9-game skid against Mississippi State that dates back to 2014.
AUBURN-MISSISSIPPI STATE SERIES
›› This is the 60th meeting between Auburn and Mississippi State in women's basketball. Auburn leads the series 35-24 with a 20-8 lead at home.
›› The last time the teams met at Auburn Arena in 2020, the Tigers took the 9th-ranked Bulldogs to overtime before falling 92-85.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 23, 2021, in Starkville
Mississippi State 81, Auburn 68
›› Auburn senior Unique Thompson set the all-time career rebounding record for Auburn and had a 22-point, 14-rebound night, but the Tigers let a halftime lead slip away in an 81-68 loss at Mississippi State.
›› Thompson's 1,119th career rebound came with 5:28 to play in the third quarter, moving her past Becky Jackson for the top spot in the Auburn record book.
›› Thompson's big night, along with a 24-point performance from Honesty Scott-Grayson, kept the Tigers in the game. But fatigue set in for the shorthanded Tigers – who dressed just eight players as a result of injuries and suspensions – and the Bulldogs pulled away late.
›› Auburn shot 38 percent from the field (25-66) to MSU's 46 percent (32-69). State out-rebounded Auburn 46-40 and had 23 second-chance points on 15 offensive rebounds.
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
›› Mississippi State is 13-7 overall and 4-4 in the SEC. The Bulldogs come in having won two straight, including a 20-point win over Texas A&M Sunday.
›› State averages 72.5 points per game while giving up 64.5.
›› Among active players, Anastasia Hayes leads the Bulldogs with 18.3 points per game. Myah Taylor is one of the league's top point guards, leading the SEC with 5.7 assists and ranking second in the league with 3.1 steals per game.
A FAMILY REUNION
›› Auburn's Johnnie Harris will be facing Mississippi State for the first time as a head coach. She spent eight seasons as associate head coach at MSU, helping lead the Bulldogs to a pair of national championship game appearances and two SEC titles.
›› Auburn assistant coach Ketara Chapel and director of player development Savannah Carter both played for Harris at MSU.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 9-11, 1-8 in SEC play. After falling in five SEC games where the Tigers either led in the fourth quarter or were within one possession in the final minute, the Tigers finally broke through with a stunning 71-61 win over No. 4 Tennessee on Jan. 27, snapping a 23-game SEC losing streak.
›› With wins at No. 18 Georgia Tech on Nov. 21 and at home over No. 4 Tennessee on Jan. 27, Auburn has two wins over ranked opponents for the first time since 2016.
›› Sophomore Aicha Coulibaly leads Auburn and is fourth in the SEC in scoring with 18.3 points/game. She is also the Tigers' top rebounder with 8.0 rebounds per game (7th SEC). She has topped the 20-point mark in eight contests, scoring a career-high 27 against Charleston Southern, 23 against North Florida, 25 vs. Oklahoma State, 24 at Belmont, 23 vs. Kennesaw State, 24 at Florida, 26 vs. Tennessee and 21 at Vanderbilt. She also has four double-doubles this season, including 14 points and 11 rebounds 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 12.1 points and 5.5 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 guard Sania Wells is the SEC's top free-throw shooter at .934 (57-61), which also ranks 5th nationally. She scored a career-high 20 points at Missouri on Jan. 6.
›› Junior Annie 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. She also hit a key 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter that was a dagger in the Tigers' upset of No. 4 Tennessee.
UP NEXT
›› After a weekend off, the Tigers are back on the road next Thursday, Feb. 10, traveling to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. Game time is 7 p.m. CT at Bud Walton Arena.
Auburn women welcome Mississippi State Thursday
