AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team will play their fifth road game in SEC play Thursday night when they travel to Lexington, Ky., to take on the Kentucky Wildcats. Game time is 6 p.m. CT at Memorial Coliseum.
The Tigers look to build on the momentum from a thrilling 77-76 overtime victory over Ole Miss Sunday at Neville Arena. Kentucky will also look to get back in the win column at home after a heartbreaking 77-76 setback at Mississippi State Sunday.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen will have the radio call on WQSI 93.9 FM beginning at 5:45 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 Jeff Piecoro and Christi Thomas calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Aicha Coulibaly scored five of Auburn's seven overtime points, finishing with a career-high 31 to lead Auburn to a 77-76 comeback win over Ole Miss Sunday at Neville Arena.
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson and Mar'Shaun Bostic each scored 11 points and Richardson added eight. Trailing 37-23 with 3:14 remaining in the first half, the Tigers used a 10-0 run to pull within four before the Rebels scored the final four points of the quarter to take a 41-33 halftime lead.
›› Scott-Grayson scored her 1,000th career point on a free throw in the second quarter.
›› The Tigers rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit to take a lead in the third quarter, then held off the Rebels to force overtime. A Scott-Grayson layup put Auburn ahead 77-74 with a minute to play, and the Tigers got a stop on Ole Miss' final possession to secure the win.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Give the Tigers back-to-back SEC wins for the first time since the 2019 season.
›› Be Auburn's first win in Lexington since 2006 and the first at Memorial Coliseum since 2004.
›› Snap an 8-game skid against Kentucky.
›› Be Auburn's first SEC road win since Feb. 27, 2020, at Missouri.
AUBURN-KENTUCKY SERIES
›› Auburn is 26-27 all-time against Kentucky. The Wildcats have won eight straight in the series and nine in a row at home. Auburn's last win came Jan. 3, 2016, when the Tigers rallied from 17 points behind to defeat the then-No. 7 Wildcats 66-61 in Auburn.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 27, 2022, at Lexington
Kentucky 90, Auburn 62
›› Auburn's Aicha Coulibaly and Precious Johnson recorded double-doubles, but Kentucky on its senior day was too much in a 90-62 loss Sunday at Memorial Coliseum.
›› Coulibaly and Johnson both finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. It was the fifth double-double of the season for Coulibaly and the first of Johnson's career; her scoring and rebound totals were both career-highs. Xaria Wiggins added a career-high nine rebounds.
›› Kentucky shot 51 percent from the floor while the Tigers were 21-of-72 (29%). Auburn had multiple second-chance opportunities, pulling down a season-best 27 offensive rebounds, but turned those into just 20 points. Overall, Auburn out-rebounded the Wildcats 49-35. UK turned 15 Auburn turnovers into 17 points, and the Kentucky bench outscored Auburn's 34-10. The Wildcats hit 10 3-pointers, a season-high by an Auburn opponent.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
›› Kentucky is 9-10 overall, 1-6 in SEC play. The Wildcats have a win over Florida in league play, and nearly picked up a second Sunday at Mississippi State before falling 77-76 in the final seconds.
›› The Wildcats average 70.0 points per game while holding opponents to 68.2. Kentucky leads the SEC in steals with 10.8 per game.
›› Robyn Benton leads Kentucky in scoring with 17.1 points/game to rank fifth in the SEC. Jada Walker (2.5 spg) and Maddie Scherr (2.4 spg) are the top two in the SEC in steals.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 11-8 overall, 1-6 in SEC play after a 77-76 overtime win over Ole Miss Sunday afternoon at home. The Tigers won seven straight to close out non-conference play, the last six coming at home. The Tigers are 10-3 at home this season but still seeking their first road win.
›› The Tigers rank 13th nationally with 5.4 blocks per game. Auburn is also top-50 nationally in turnovers forced per game at 19.6 (40th) and turnover margin at +4.1 (44th).
›› Junior Aicha Coulibaly leads Auburn in scoring (17.6 ppg), rebounding (6.1 rpg) and steals (2.4 spg). She has two double-doubles this season, with her last coming against UCF Dec. 3 (17 points, 12 rebounds). 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, returning to the lineup with 15 points at Mississippi State. She then scored a career-high 31 points vs. Ole Miss, tied for the most by any SEC player in a conference game so far this season.
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson averages 14.1 points to rank second on the team and 14th 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 44.6% from long range (29-65). 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.
›› Sophomore Mar'Shaun Bostic has been a defensive spark off the bench, grabbing three steals and three rebounds in each of the last two games. She scored a career-high 11 points in the win over Ole Miss.
›› Freshman point guard Sydney Shaw leads the Tigers with 3.0 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. Shaw is Auburn's third-leading scorer with 8.5 points/game.
›› Auburn's newcomers have all made an immediate impact with three freshmen - Kaitlyn Duhon, Shaw and Kharyssa Richardson - starting each of the first six 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 10 starts, scoring 8+ points in three of those.
UP NEXT
›› The Tigers are back at Neville Arena for their next three games, beginning Monday, Jan. 30, as they host the Florida Gators. Game time is 6 p.m. CT with the broadcast on SEC Network.
Auburn women back on the road at Kentucky Thursday
