AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team will be back inside Neville Arena Thursday night to host Texas A&M. Game time is 7 p.m. CT.
It's the annual Play4Kay Pink Game – Auburn will be wearing special pink uniforms, and all fans are encouraged to wear pink.
Head Coach Johnnie Harris has announced that she will make a donation to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund for every Auburn student that attends Thursday's game; she has pledged $5 per student in attendance. Harris was an assistant coach under Yow at NC State during the 2003-04 season.
As part of the effort to fight cancer, the Gene Machine will be on site at the scholarship entrance for fans interested in a screening. In addition, several cancer survivors will be recognized on the court.
Tickets are available at the arena ticket office on gameday or by visiting AUBTix.com.
Auburn Fam, Coach J is donating $5 to the Play4Kay Cancer fund for every student in attendance on Thursday Night! Wear pink and let's pack it out 😤#WarEagle | #LGTW | #Play4Kay pic.twitter.com/5EgGQ6WxF4
— Auburn Women's Basketball (@AuburnWBB) February 14, 2023
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara 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.
›› The game is available on SEC Network + with Wiley Ballard, Joe Ciampi and Mackenzie Harris on the call.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Aicha Coulibaly recorded her fourth double-double of the season, but a long cold spell allowed Alabama to build a lead they would not relinquish as the Tigers fell 69-46 Sunday at Coleman Coliseum.
›› A 10-minute stretch spanning the end of the second and beginning of the third quarters saw Auburn go scoreless from the field, and a 19-3 run for the Crimson Tide over that stretch proved to be too much for Auburn to overcome.
›› Coulibaly finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year and ninth of her career. Kharyssa Richardson led the Tigers in scoring, equaling a career-high with 15 points and also pulling down eight rebounds.
›› It was a rough shooting night for the Tigers as they finished at 27 percent (17-62) and were unable to connect from 3-point range. Alabama, meanwhile, shot an even 50 percent from the field (26-52), hit five 3s and out-rebounded Auburn 45-34.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Secure a .500 regular-season record with a 14th win.
›› Double the SEC win total from last season.
›› Be Auburn's first win over Texas A&M.
›› Give Auburn its 12th home win of the season, equaling the record at Neville Arena for the regular season.
AUBURN-TEXAS A&M SERIES
›› This is the 17th meeting between Auburn and Texas A&M. The Aggies have won all 16 prior meetings, including five at Neville Arena.
LAST MEETING: Jan. 16, 2022, at College Station
Texas A&M 71, Auburn 53
›› Auburn outscored Texas A&M in the second half, but a dreadful second quarter was too much to overcome in a 71-53 Aggie win Sunday afternoon at Reed Arena.
›› The Tigers fought early foul trouble to all of their bigs, and Texas A&M took advantage of its size, outscoring Auburn 25-6 in the second quarter to take a 44-18 halftime lead. Auburn outscored the Aggies 35-27 in the second half, but the deficit was too large.
›› Despite playing limited minutes, Coulibaly led Auburn with 15 points and nine rebounds. Sania Wells added 10 points, and Honesty Scott-Grayson shook off a scoreless first half to finish with nine points and six rebounds.
›› A&M outshot Auburn 46 to 37 percent and controlled the boards, pulling down 41 rebounds to Auburn's 29. The Aggies also got 33 points off their bench, including a career-high 20 from post player Sydnee Roby. A&M hit six 3-pointers to Auburn's one, and the Aggies were 9-for-9 at the free-throw line while Auburn struggled at 10-of-18.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
›› Texas A&M is 6-16 overall, 1-11 in SEC play. The Aggies had just seven players available for most of the first half of SEC play, but have been much more competitive since getting three key players back in the last few weeks.
›› The Aggies average 54.8 points per game and allow 62.0 for their opponents.
›› Freshman Janiah Barker leads the Aggies with 12.4 points per game despite missing 10 games with injury.
AUBURN-AGGIE TIES
›› Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris was an assistant coach at Texas A&M from 2007-2012, helping lead the Aggies to the 2011 NCAA Championship.
›› Auburn associate head coach Damitria Buchanan played for Harris and the Aggies from 2006-10, helping guide A&M to three Big 12 Conference titles and four top-25 finishes.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 13-11 overall, 3-8 in SEC play. The Tigers have dropped three in a row to open February after having won three straight to wrap up January.
›› Auburn is the only team in the country to have played the top three teams in last week's national rankings: No. 1 South Carolina (twice), No. 2/3 Indiana and No. 3/2 LSU.
›› Junior Aicha Coulibaly leads Auburn in scoring (16.3 ppg), rebounding (6.4 rpg) and steals (2.3 spg); she is 7th in the SEC in scoring and 3rd in steals. She has four double-doubles this season, her last coming last Sunday at Florida (13 points, 10 rebounds). In Auburn's three SEC wins, Coulibaly is averaging 21.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.0 steals. Coulibaly has missed three SEC games with injuries.
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson averages 12.6 points to rank second on the team. 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 40.5% from long range (30-74). 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, averaging 1.3 steals in SEC play. She scored a career-high 11 points in the win over Ole Miss.
›› Senior Sania Wells has had three big games in SEC play, scoring a season-high 16 points in the win at Kentucky along with 13 against both South Carolina and Alabama. She was the SEC's leading free-throw shooter last year at 90.5% (76-84) and is currently 4th all-time at Auburn in career free-throw percentage. She averages 6.9 points off the bench and is Auburn's fourth-leading scorer in SEC play.
›› Freshman point guard Sydney Shaw leads the Tigers with 2.4 assists/game despite moving to the 2-guard spot once league play began. 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 matched that career-high with 15 points against South Carolina on Feb. 9. Shaw is Auburn's third-leading scorer with 7.8 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 career night with 15 points and 16 rebounds in a win over Florida. Junior Jakayla Johnson has earned 14 starts, scoring 8+ points in four of those and posting a career-high 6 assists at Kentucky.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn hits the road for its next two games, beginning with a trip to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Lady Vols. Game time is 11 a.m. CT Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena with a national broadcast on ESPN2.