AUBURN, Ala. – The second true road game of the season for Auburn women's basketball will include the Tigers' toughest test so far as they take on top-ranked South Carolina Thursday night in Columbia, S.C. Game time is 6 p.m. CT at Colonial Life Arena.
The Tigers (10-4, 0-2 SEC) came up just short Sunday in their home SEC opener against Missouri, fighting to the finish before falling 62-56. The Gamecocks (14-0, 2-0) rallied from a halftime deficit to pick up a 68-51 win at Georgia Monday night.
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 Dave Weinstein and Brett Ball calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Aicha Coulibaly led Auburn with 20 points and seven rebounds, but Missouri made 4 of 5 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to hold off Auburn, winning 62-56 on New Year's Day at Neville Arena.
›› Missouri broke open a close game in the third quarter when Katlyn Gilbert made five layups and scored 11 points en route to a 10-point lead before Sania Wells' 3-point play cut the deficit to 48-41 heading to the final quarter.
›› Jakayla Johnson scored nine points and led Auburn with four assists with only one turnover while making her point guard debut. Wells added eight points.
›› Auburn played its second straight game without second-leading scorer Honesty Scott-Grayson, who is day to day with injuries. Scott-Grayson averages 15.8 points per game and shoots 49-percent from 3-point range.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Surpass the Tigers' win total from the entire 2021-22 season with their 11th of the year.
›› Snap a 12-game skid against South Carolina.
›› Be Auburn's first win over a ranked opponent this season.
›› Be Auburn's first SEC road win since Feb. 27, 2020 (95-82 at Missouri).
›› Be Auburn's first win over a No. 1 team since the 1990 Final Four (81-69 over Louisiana Tech).
AUBURN-SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES
›› Auburn is 21-27 all-time against South Carolina, but the Gamecocks have won the last 12 meetings dating back to 2013. Carolina owns a 14-7 edge in games played in Columbia.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 17, 2022, at Columbia
#1 South Carolina 75, Auburn 38
›› Top-ranked South Carolina lived up to its billing as Auburn fell 75-38 at Colonial Life Arena.
›› Aicha Coulibaly led Auburn with nine points and nine rebounds. Honesty Scott-Grayson added eight points.
›› The Gamecocks pulled down 62 rebounds to Auburn's 25 and turned 24 offensive boards into 21 second-chance points. Carolina shot 43 percent from the field (32-74) while Auburn was 29 percent (18-62). On a better note, the Tigers had a season-low seven turnovers.
AUBURN VS. NUMBER ONE
›› This will mark Auburn's 20th contest against the nation's top-ranked team (AP or Coaches' polls) in history. The Tigers are 2-17 all-time against teams carrying the No. 1 ranking. It will be the fifth time for Auburn to face South Carolina when the Gamecocks are atop a national poll.
›› Auburn's last win over a No. 1 team came on March 30, 1990, when the Tigers defeated top-ranked Louisiana Tech 81-69 in the 1990 Final Four in Knoxville, Tenn.
›› The Tigers' last four meetings with a No. 1 team also came against South Carolina - 2022 in Columbia (L, 38-75), 2021 in Auburn (L, 58-77), 2020 in Columbia (L, 53-79) and in 2015 in Columbia (L, 58-77). Auburn also faced Dawn Staley as a player in a matchup with No. 1 Virginia on Jan. 5, 1992, in Auburn; UVA won 77-70.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
›› South Carolina is 14-0 overall, 2-0 in SEC play, ranked No. 1 team in the AP and coaches polls, and defending national champions.
›› The Gamecocks average 81.6 points per game and hold opponents to a nation-leading 43.6 points/game. Carolina also leads the nation in blocks per game (9.9), field goal defense (26.7%), 3-point defense (20.3%) and rank second in scoring margin (+37.9) and rebound margin (+21.1).
›› Zia Cooke leads Carolina with 15.3 points per game, and reigning national player of the year Aliyah Boston has collected eight double-doubles this season.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 10-4 overall, 0-2 in SEC play after falling at home to Missouri on Sunday. The Tigers won seven straight to close out non-conference play, the last six coming at home. The Tigers are 9-2 at home this season.
›› The Tigers rank 7th nationally with 5.9 blocks per game. Auburn is also top-50 nationally in 3-point percentage at 35.3% (45th), turnovers forced per game at 21.4 (20th), turnover margin at +5.1 (31st), and steals per game at 10.8 (37th).
›› Junior Aicha Coulibaly is fifth in the SEC in scoring (16.7 ppg) and 11th in steals (1.9 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 came back with 13 points at Ole Miss (12/29) and 20 vs. Missouri (1/1).
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson averages 15.8 points to rank second on the team and 8th in the SEC. She led Auburn in scoring in seven of the last eight games she played, 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 49.0% from long range (25-51) to rank 11th nationally. She has missed the first two games of SEC play with minor injuries.
›› 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 3.6 assists/game, which ranks 10th in the SEC and leads all SEC freshmen. 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. She was named SEC Player of the Week (12/28) after her performance against North Florida.
›› 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. Junior Jakayla Johnson has earned five starts, scoring 8+ points in three of the five.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn is back home Sunday to take on cross-state rival Alabama. Game time is 4 p.m. CT with the broadcast on SEC Network. It's Alumni Weekend as the Tigers will welcome back former players for a reception Saturday and on-court recognition at Sunday's game. Sunday's game is also All Auburn, All Orange as fans are encouraged to wear orange.
Tigers face top-ranked Gamecocks on the road
