Tigers continue road swing at Mississippi State

AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn women's basketball stays on the road for the second straight game when the Tigers travel to Starkville, Miss., to face Mississippi State Thursday night. Game time is 7 p.m. CT at Humphrey Coliseum.
 
ON THE AIR
››          Brit Bowen will have the radio call on WQSI 93.9 FM beginning at 6:45 p.m. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics app.
››          Thursday's game can be seen on SEC Network + with Bart Gregory and Charlie Winfield calling the action. SEC Network + is available via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app.
 
LAST TIME OUT
››          Auburn's Precious Johnson scored a season-high 13 points, but No. 5 LSU was too much as Auburn fell 84-54 Sunday afternoon on the road.
››          Auburn struggled from the field early and, despite a late third-quarter run, could not catch up to the nation's top-scoring team as LSU showcased its size and speed in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
››          Johnson's 13 marked her second game this season in double-figures as she went 5-of-6 from the field and pulled down six rebounds. Freshman Kharyssa Richardson added 10 points and five rebounds. Sydney Shaw and Sania Wells just missed double-digits with nine points apiece, and Honesty Scott-Grayson scored seven points and pulled down a team-best seven rebounds in her return to the starting lineup.
››          LSU, the nation's leader in rebounding margin, only had seven more boards than Auburn at 45-38. Auburn also turned 15 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points. But LSU shot 47.8 percent while Auburn came in at 36.5 percent. Auburn also had a tough day at the free-throw line, going 6-for-16.
 
 
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
››          Surpass the Tigers' win total from the entire 2021-22 season with their 11th of the year.
››          Be the Tigers' first SEC road win since Feb. 27, 2020 at MIssouri.
››          Snap a 10-game skid against Mississippi State.
 
AUBURN-MSU SERIES
››          This is the 61st meeting between Auburn and Mississippi State in women's basketball. Auburn is 35-25 all-time against State, but the Bulldogs have won the last 10 meetings, including six straight in Starkville.
 
LAST MEETING: Feb. 3, 2022, at Auburn
Mississippi State 70, Auburn 65
››          Auburn fought back in the fourth quarter from a double-digit deficit but was unable to complete the comeback in a 70-65 loss to Mississippi State at Auburn Arena.
››          The Tigers struggled at the free-throw line and saw the Bulldogs hit clutch shots from distance in the second half to secure their third straight SEC win.
››          Auburn took 17 more shots than MSU but were 40 percent from the floor, 2-of-13 on 3-pointers and 13-of-25 at the free-throw line. Meanwhile, State shot 51 percent from the floor and knocked down 7-of-13 3-point attempts. The Tigers did out-rebound the Bulldogs 39-34 and controlled the paint, outscoring State inside 42-26.
››          Aicha Coulibaly topped the 20-point mark for the third straight game, leading the Tigers with 24. Honesty Scott-Grayson added 12 with eight of those coming in the fourth quarter; she missed significant minutes with early foul trouble. Sania Wells had a game-high six assists, and Scott-Grayson and Annie Hughes tied for the team lead with five rebounds apiece.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
››          Mississippi State is 12-5 on the year and 2-3 in SEC play. The Bulldogs have wins over Texas A&M and Vanderbilt so far in league play.
››          State averages 73.7 points per game while holding opponents to 52.5. The Bulldogs are 4th in the SEC in scoring defense and 3rd in field goal defense.
››          Jessika Carter leads State with 14.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game; she's 4th in the SEC in rebounding. She also leads the SEC in blocked shots with 2.7/game. Anastasia Hayes is the SEC's leader in assists per game with 5.3.
 
JUST A FEW CONNECTIONS HERE
››          Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris will be making her first trip to Mississippi State since departing Starkville after the 2019-20 season to be part of Vic Schaefer's staff at Texas. Harris was an assistant at MSU from 2012-2020, helping lead the Bulldogs to an SEC regular-season and tournament title and two Final Four appearances.
››          Auburn assistant coach Ketara Chapel and director of player development Savannah Carter played for and graduated from Mississippi State. They were both part of Harris' first signing class in Starkville.
››          Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell is a 2003 Auburn graduate and the son-in-law of former Auburn head coach Joe Ciampi.
 
SCOUTING AUBURN
››          Auburn is 10-7 overall, 0-5 in SEC play after falling on the road at No. 5 LSU Sunday afternoon. The Tigers won seven straight to close out non-conference play, the last six coming at home. The Tigers are 9-3 at home this season but still seeking their first road win.
››          The Tigers rank 10th nationally with 5.5 blocks per game. Auburn is also top-50 nationally in  turnovers forced per game at 19.8 (38th).
››          Junior Aicha Coulibaly leads Auburn in scoring (16.7 ppg), rebounding (5.9 rpg) and steals (2.1 spg). She has two double-doubles this season, with her last coming against UCF Dec. 3 (17 points, 12 rebounds). She was a preseason All-SEC Second Team selection. Coulibaly missed the Tigers' last three games of non-conference but has been the leading scorer in each of Auburn's first three SEC games. She then missed the last two SEC games vs. Alabama and LSU with an injury.
››          Honesty Scott-Grayson averages 14.5 points to rank second on the team and 13th in the SEC. She led Auburn in scoring in seven of the last eight games in non-conference play, topping the 20-point mark four times including a career-high 31 against North Carolina A&T. She is also the Tigers' top 3-point shooter, hitting 45.6% from long range (26-57). She missed the first three games of SEC play with minor injuries but returned to the bench vs. Alabama and to the starting lineup at LSU.
››          Redshirt sophomore Romi Levy recorded double-doubles against both Alabama State and Little Rock. Against Little Rock, she had career-highs in points (18) and rebounds (13) for her second career double-double.
››          Freshman point guard Sydney Shaw leads the Tigers with 3.1 assists/game. She scored a career-high 15 points and matched a season-best with 6 assists in the win over Louisiana-Lafayette, and she scored at least 14 points in 3 of the last 4 non-conference games.
››          Sania Wells has been one of Auburn's most consistent players so far in SEC play, averaging 8.6 points to rank third on the team. She scored a season-high 13 points against both South Carolina and Alabama. Wells was the SEC's leading free-throw shooter in 2021-22 at 90.5% (76-84), and she currently ranks 5th in Auburn history in career free-throw percentage at 78.1%.
››          Auburn's newcomers have all made an immediate impact with three freshmen - Kaitlyn Duhon, Sydney Shaw and Kharyssa Richardson - starting each of the first four games. Duhon scored 17 points in the win over South Alabama. Richardson had a season-high 9 rebounds vs. Colorado State before leaving the game with injury, then had 10 points at LSU. Junior Jakayla Johnson has earned seven starts, scoring 8+ points in three of those.
 
UP NEXT
››          The Tigers are back inside Neville Arena on Sunday, Jan. 22, to take on Ole Miss. Game time is 4 p.m. CT. It's the annual We Back Pat Game, and the first 500 fans can pick up a limited edition Neville Arena cup.