AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn women's basketball will take on the nation's top-ranked team for the second time this season as No. 1 South Carolina visits Neville Arena Thursday night. Game time is set for 7 p.m. CT.
The first 100 students can pick up a limited edition 90s-themed bucket hat at the student entrance. It's part of the Tigers' College Vault Night with a pop-up shop where fans can purchase throwback Auburn gear.
Tickets are available at the Neville Arena ticket office or by visiting AUBTix.com.
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.
›› Thursday's game can be seen on SEC Network + with Wiley Ballard and Hall-of-Famer Joe Ciampi on the call.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Auburn overcame a 15-point second-half deficit and had two chances to take the lead in the final seconds before falling to Arkansas 54-51 Sunday at Neville Arena, ending the Tigers' three-game SEC win streak.
›› Arkansas broke a 51-51 tie with a free throw with 7.2 seconds to play. The Razorbacks were then called for an intentional foul, giving Auburn two shots and the ball, trailing 52-51. However, Auburn would miss both free throws, turn the ball over on a 5-second violation, and Arkansas would make two more free throws to secure the final margin.
›› The Tigers rallied valiantly after making only 1 of 16 shots and committing eight turnovers in the first quarter while falling behind 16-5.
›› Auburn turned up the defensive intensity in the fourth quarter, holding Arkansas to two field goals on 16 attempts, but the Tigers committed five turnovers in the final quarter and were 7 of 14 from the free-throw line.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Secure a .500 regular-season record with a 14th win.
›› Double the SEC win total from last season.
›› Snap a 13-game skid against South Carolina.
›› Improve Auburn to 12-4 at home, tying the Neville Arena record for regular-season home wins.
›› Be Auburn's first win over a No. 1 team since the 1990 Final Four (81-69 over Louisiana Tech).
›› Be Auburn's first win over a ranked opponent this season.
AUBURN-SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES
›› Auburn is 21-28 all-time against South Carolina, but the Gamecocks have won the last 13 meetings dating back to 2013. Auburn owns a 12-11 edge in the series at home.
LAST MEETING: Jan. 5, 2023, at Columbia
#1 South Carolina 94, Auburn 42
›› No. 1 South Carolina lived up to its top billing as Auburn fell 94-42 Thursday night at Colonial Life Arena.
›› The Tigers struggled from the field and on the boards as the Gamecocks controlled the pace and were able to score inside, outside and at the free-throw line.
›› Sania Wells scored a season-high 13 points on her best shooting night of the year, going 6-of-8 from the field. Aicha Coulibaly added a team-leading 16, and Sydney Shaw scored 11 to give the Tigers three in double-figures.
›› Auburn shot 28.6 percent (18-of-63) while Carolina was lights-out at 64.3 (36-of-57). The Gamecocks controlled the inside, scoring 50 of their 94 points in the paint, and they controlled the boards with a 45-25 rebounding margin. The Tigers also had one of their worst nights at the free-throw line, hitting just 4-of-12 at the line, while Carolina was 15-for-18.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
›› South Carolina is 23-0 overall, 10-0 in the SEC, ranked No. 1 in both polls and the NCAA NET rankings, and the defending national champions. The Gamecocks have won 29 straight games dating back to the beginning of last year's NCAA Tournament.
›› The Gamecocks average 82.2 points per game and are the nation's top defensive team, holding opponents to 48.3/game. Carolina also leads the nation in field goal defense (29.9%), blocks per game (9.7), rebound margin (+21.5) and scoring margin (+33.9).
›› Zia Cooke leads Carolina with 14.8 points per game, and Aliyah Boston averages 13.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. Boston has 16 double-doubles this season to rank 5th nationally.
›› Auburn associate head coach Fred Williams coached South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley during the 2003 and 2004 WNBA seasons while Staley played for the Charlotte Sting.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 13-9 overall, 3-7 in SEC play. The Tigers saw a 3-game SEC win streak come to an end Sunday with a tough 54-51 loss at home to Arkansas.
›› The Tigers rank 11th nationally with 5.2 blocks per game. Auburn is also top-50 nationally in turnovers forced per game at 19.4 (43rd) and steals per game at 9.7 (50th).
›› Junior Aicha Coulibaly leads Auburn in scoring (16.5 ppg), rebounding (6.2 rpg) and steals (2.4 spg); she is 7th in the SEC in scoring and 3rd in steals. She has three double-doubles this season, her last coming last Monday against Florida (14 points, 11 rebounds). In Auburn's three SEC wins, Coulibaly is averaging 21.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.0 steals.
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson averages 13.6 points to rank second on the team and 17th 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 41.1% from long range (30-73). 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 1.5 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 7.2 points off the bench and is Auburn's third-leading scorer in SEC play.
›› Freshman point guard Sydney Shaw leads the Tigers with 2.6 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. 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 13 starts, scoring 8+ points in four of those and posting a career-high 6 assists at Kentucky.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn gets a rematch with rival Alabama Sunday in Tuscaloosa. Game time is 4 p.m. CT at Coleman Coliseum.
Tigers host No. 1 South Carolina Thursday night
