AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn women's basketball continues its season-opening home stand Wednesday night as Georgia Tech makes the short trip from Atlanta to take on the Tigers at Neville Arena. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CT.
The Tigers (2-0) are coming off a pair of wins over Sam Houston and South Alabama to open the season. Georgia Tech (2-0) has also won its first two contests, defeating Georgia State and Kennesaw State at home last week.
Wednesday's game is the Title IX celebration game for Auburn women's basketball. The first 300 fans will receive a Title IX blanket, and Auburn's Office of Diversity and Inclusion will be providing more information. The Auburn Wheelchair Basketball team will also scrimmage at halftime.
Tickets are available at the Neville Arena ticket office, online at AUBTix.com or by calling 855-282-2010.
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 broadcast can also be heard online at AuburnTigers.com and on the Auburn Athletics mobile app.
›› The game can be seen on SEC Network + with Brad Law and Joe Ciampi on the call. SEC Network + is available via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app for mobile devices and smart TVs.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Missing three key players and their head coach due to illness, the Auburn women's basketball team willed its way to a 71-62 victory over South Alabama Thursday night at Neville Arena.
›› The Tigers (2-0) used a 15-0 run through the middle of the second quarter to turn an early deficit into a lead they would not relinquish. South Alabama (1-1) would not go quietly, however, getting as close as five points in the fourth quarter before Auburn made two key buckets down the stretch to seal the win.
›› Head coach Johnnie Harris was unable to be on the sidelines, so associate head coach Damitria Buchanan assumed the reins for Thursday's game. Auburn was also without junior Precious Johnson, sophomore Romi Levy and freshman Mya Pratcher, all of whom missed the game with illness.
›› Freshman Kaitlyn Duhon had a monster game in her second collegiate appearance, scoring 17 points to go along with seven rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks. Junior Aicha Coulibaly led the Tigers with 19 points and pulled down five boards on the night.
›› Kharyssa Richardson, another freshman, contributed nine points and seven rebounds, and classmate Sydney Shaw finished with eight points and shared the team lead with three assists. Senior Honesty Scott-Grayson knocked down two key 3-pointers, finishing with six points to go along with five rebounds and three assists.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Give Auburn a 3-0 start for the fourth time in the last seven seasons.
›› Be Auburn's 9th straight home non-conference victory.
›› Improve Auburn to 5-0 all-time against Georgia Tech.
AUBURN-GEORGIA TECH SERIES
›› Despite being separated by just 116 miles, this is only the fifth meeting between Auburn and Georgia Tech in women's basketball, and the first visit to the Plains for Tech since the 1975-76 season. Auburn has won all four previous meetings.
LAST MEETING: Nov. 21, 2021, at Atlanta
Auburn 59, #18 Georgia Tech 51
›› Auburn's defense put together its best performance of the year, and Honesty Scott-Grayson turned in her second straight standout game as the Tigers upset No. 18 Georgia Tech 59-51 at McCamish Pavilion.
›› The Tigers (2-2) jumped out to a big early lead – increasing it to as much as 22 in the second half – and held off a comeback bid by Tech (4-1) for its first road win over a ranked opponent in nearly eight years.
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson never came off the floor, scoring 18 points along with six rebounds and three assists. She had her best 3-point shooting game of her career as well, going 4-of-8 from long range. Aicha Coulibaly added 14 points with five boards, and Sania Wells delivered four clutch free throws in the final minute to clinch the victory; she finished with eight points.
›› Auburn's win was its first over a ranked opponent since defeating Missouri at home in 2019, and its first over a ranked foe on the road since a 2014 victory at No. 16 Vanderbilt.
SCOUTING GEORGIA TECH
›› Georgia Tech is 2-0 after wins over in-state foes Georgia State and Kennesaw State to open the season.
›› The Yellow Jackets were 21-11 overall, 11-7 in ACC play last year and earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Tech was picked to finish 8th in the ACC in 2022-23.
›› Tech returns two starters from 2021-22 but added a pair of top transfers in Bianca Jackson and Cameron Swartz, who was the ACC's Most Improved Player in 2022 at Boston College. Swartz is Tech's leading scorer through two games at 16.5 ppg.
ALL THE CONNECTIONS
›› Georgia Tech head coach Nell Fortner, now in her fourth season on the Flats, spent eight seasons as head coach at Auburn, leading the Tigers to the 2009 SEC Championship, two NCAA Tournament appearances and a 145-106 record.
›› Former Tiger Blanche Alverson (2009-13) is on the Jackets' bench as an assistant coach. Alverson is second in Auburn history in 3-point shooting (213 made) and was a two-time SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
›› Georgia Tech player development coach Shannon Jackson is a 2012 Auburn graduate.
›› Auburn director of operations Alex Stewart played at Georgia Tech from 1999-2004 and was an All-ACC third-team selection as a junior.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 2-0 after a pair of home wins over Sam Houston and South Alabama to open the 2022-23 season.
›› Junior Aicha Coulibaly was a preseason All-SEC Second Team selection after earning a nod to the postseason All-SEC Second Team last season. She is Auburn's leading returner in scoring (17.1 ppg), rebounding (7.5 rpg) and steals (2.2 spg). She ranked ninth in the SEC in scoring last season. She scored 24 points and had 10 rebounds in the season-opener vs. Sam Houston for her sixth career double-double.
›› Redshirt senior Honesty Scott-Grayson returns for her third season on the court for Auburn. She was second on the team with 13.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last year, starting 27 of 28 games. She had 12 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds in the opener.
›› Senior Sania Wells was the SEC's leading free-throw shooter in 2021-22, hitting 90.5% of her attempts (76-84). That percentage ranked sixth in the nation. Wells was Auburn's third-leading scorer with 9.1 points per game and led the Tigers with 2.6 assists/game. Wells is 5-5 at the line so far this season.
›› Redshirt sophomore Romi Levy returns to action after missing the 2021-22 season with a torn ACL. As a freshman in 2020-21, she averaged 5.4 points and 3.9 rebounds and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. Levy has missed the first two games of the regular season with illness.
›› Auburn's newcomers will look to make an immediate impact. Freshmen Sydney Shaw, Kaitlyn Duhon and Kharyssa Richardson were all in the starting lineup opening night. All were highly-rated recruits that helped make up the Tigers' top-25 class last fall. Freshman Mya Pratcher and junior Jakayla Johnson also look to play significant minutes.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn finishes off a season-opening four-game home stand Sunday, Nov. 20, as the Tigers host Alabama State at 2 p.m. CT.
Auburn women welcome Georgia Tech Wednesday night
