AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn women's basketball looks to get back on the winning track Sunday when the Tigers host Alabama A&M at Neville Arena. Game time is 2 p.m. CT.
The Tigers (3-2) have come up short in their last two contests, dropping a home game to Cal last Friday before dropping a road tilt at UCF Monday night in Orlando. Alabama A&M (2-2) has won their last two, both at home, over Tennessee Tech and Alabama-Huntsville.
Tickets for Sunday's game are available for just $4 when purchased in advance using the link on the game preview page at AuburnTigers.com.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara will have the radio call on AU100 (100.3 FM) beginning at 1:45 p.m. CT. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics app.
›› Sunday's game can be seen on SEC Network +. The broadcast will consist of the arena video board feed with the Auburn Sports Network audio.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Sophomore Sydney Shaw scored a career-high 17 points, but Auburn was unable to finish off a comeback bid as they fell 60-53 at UCF Monday night.
›› Auburn fell behind early, went back-and-forth with the Knights in the second quarter and briefly took the lead just after halftime. But an 13-4 run by UCF midway to start the third, which included three 3-pointers, gave the Knights a lead they would never relinquish.
›› JaMya Mingo-Young scored seven points in her first extended action as a Tiger and led Auburn with four assists. Celia Sumbane and Kaitlyn Duhon each had a pair of steals; Sumbane also contributed six points.
›› Auburn forced UCF into 21 turnovers but committed 18 of its own; both teams scored 24 points off turnovers. UCF out-shot the Tigers 47 to 37 percent, and the Knights hit 7-of-15 3-point attempts while the Tigers made just two.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Snap a two-game losing streak.
›› Improve the Tigers to 8-0 all-time against Alabama A&M.
LAST MEETING: Nov. 19, 2013, at Huntsville
Auburn 77, Alabama A&M 49
›› Auburn dominated both ends of the court en route to a 77-49 win at Alabama A&M to improve to 3-1 for the 2013-14 season.
›› Auburn was led by seniors Tyrese Tanner and Peyton Davis with each notching a double-double. Tanner had 19 points and 10 rebounds in the win while Davis tallied a career-high 17 points and 12 rebounds. The night was especially big for Tanner as she eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau in the game, becoming the 28th Tiger all-time to score 1,000 career points.
›› Also finishing in double figures was freshman Brandy Montgomery with 11 points along with her six rebounds.
›› The Tiger defense forced 27 Bulldog turnovers, converting them into 28 points on the other end. Auburn tallied 14 steals in the game with Allina Starr and Tanner posting three each. Auburn used its size and dominated in the post, finishing the game with a 53-16 rebounding advantage. The Tigers pulled down 23 offensive rebounds for 27 second-chance points.
AUBURN-ALABAMA A&M SERIES
›› This is the eighth meeting between Auburn and Alabama A&M in women's basketball. The Tigers have won the previous seven contests, with five of those taking place in Auburn.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
›› Alabama A&M is 2-2 after wins over Tennessee Tech and UA-Huntsville along with road losses to UAB and Colorado State.
›› The Bulldogs average 59.5 points per game while allowing 63.3.
›› Amiah Simmons leads AAMU in scoring with 12.8 points/game, while Kaylah Turner (10.5) and Alisha Wilson (10.3) both average double-figures as well.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 3-2 after starting the season with three straight wins before dropping their last two contests to Cal at home and to UCF on the road.
›› Graduate student Honesty Scott-Grayson led the Tigers with 14 point in the opener vs. JSU, then hit two clutch 3-pointers late in the win over UL-Lafayette and finished with 15 points. Her season-high came in her "homecoming" game at Rutgers Nov. 12 when she scored 18 points. She leads the team with 13.8 points/game and also averages 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
›› Freshman Savannah Scott has been a force under the basket through the early part of the season, averaging 10.4 points and 6.2 rebounds. She led the Tigers with 16 points in the win over ULL, then posted her first career double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds in the win at Rutgers. At 6-4, she adds much-needed size in the post, as do fellow freshmen Timya Thurman (6-5) and Yakiya Milton (6-4) along with sophomore Oyindamola Akinbolawa (6-5).
›› Sophomore Sydney Shaw scored a career-high 17 points at UCF and has hit double-figures in three of five games. She is third on the team with 9.8 points/game. Shaw started 25 games last season, averaging 7.6 points, and 2.6 rebounds. Possibly the Tigers' best pure shooter, she moves from playing significant minutes at point guard last year to mostly at the 2-guard spot this season, although she has run the point at times in the first four games.
›› Senior Taylen Collins had a huge second half to spark the comeback win over UL-Lafayette on Nov. 9 with all nine of her points and 8 of 14 rebounds coming after halftime. She also reached double-figures for the first time with 11 points and 8 rebounds at UCF. She averages 7.6 points and 7.0 rebounds through five games. Collins, a transfer from Oklahoma State, was fourth in the Big 12 in rebounding last year with 9.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
›› Junior Mar'Shaun Bostic had a huge game in the opener with 12 points, 4 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds. She was a breakout star in the Tigers' final game of the season last year, scoring a career-high 23 points in the WNIT second round matchup at Clemson. She played in all 31 games last year, averaging 5.6 points and 1.9 rebounds. Bostic, one of the fastest players in the SEC, looks to play significant minutes at point guard and can be one of the SEC's top defenders.
›› Sophomore Kaitlyn Duhon started the season off with a bang, scoring 13 points along with 3 rebounds and 2 steals in the opener vs. JSU. In the two exhibition games, she had 6 steals in each and recorded a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double vs. Columbus State.
›› Celia Sumbane and McKenna Eddings, both JUCO All-Americans last season, have played significant minutes in the first three games. They both had their best games at Rutgers as Eddings had 4 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block in 24 minutes of action, and Sumbane was a beast at both ends of the floor with 5 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Eddings made her first Division I start vs. California.
›› JaMya Mingo-Young (Alabama/Mississippi State) averaged 5.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 14 games at Alabama before missing the second half of the season with injury; in 2021-22, she started all 34 games and averaged 11.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and finished second in the SEC with 80 steals. She made her Auburn debut with a team-leading 5 assists vs. Cal after missing the first three games with injury, then racked up 7 points and 4 assists at UCF.
UP NEXT
›› It's a battle of Tigers and a rematch from the 2023 WNIT when Clemson visits Auburn Thursday night for the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge. Game time is 8 p.m. at Neville Arena with the broadcast on SEC Network.
Auburn women back home to host Alabama A&M Sunday
