AUBURN, Ala. – It's a rematch of what turned out to be last year's season finale for Auburn women's basketball Thursday night when the Tigers host Clemson at Neville Arena. Game time is 8 p.m. CT.
Auburn (4-2) is coming off a 68-45 home win over Alabama A&M Sunday, while Clemson (5-3) defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 92-66 their last time out.
The teams met just over eight months ago in Clemson in the second round of the WNIT, where Clemson eked out a 56-55 victory to end Auburn's 2022-23 season.
Thursday's game is part of the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge. All 14 SEC schools are facing an opponent from the ACC in both men's and women's basketball from Nov. 28-30. The battle of the Tigers will be the next-to-last contest to tip off during the challenge.
For a limited time as part of Auburn's "Cyber Week" promotion, fans can purchase tickets for Thursday's game and most remaining home games for just $4 by clicking on the link at AuburnTigers.com. This price is only available when tickets are purchased online.
ORANGE MODE ACTIVATED
›› Auburn will be breaking out the orange uniforms for the first time in nearly five years for Thursday's game. The last time Auburn wore orange was Dec. 29, 2018, at home against Alabama State. Fans are encouraged to join the Tigers in wearing orange.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and JJ Jackson will have the radio call on AU100 (100.3 FM) beginning at 7:45 p.m. CT. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics app.
›› Thursday's game will air live on SEC Network with Sam Ravech and Tamika Catchings calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Auburn regained its winning ways Sunday, leading from start to finish in a 68-45 victory over Alabama A&M at Neville Arena.
›› Leading by a dozen at the half, Auburn exploded for 24 points in the third quarter to take a 56-34 lead to the final 10 minutes, affording Harris an opportunity to distribute minutes throughout the roster.
›› Fourteen Tigers participated with 10 scoring points, including Sydney Shaw's team-high 15, and 10 for Taylen Collins, who also grabbed 10 rebounds for her first Auburn double-double.
›› Shaw's back-to-back 3-pointers early in the third quarter sparked an 8-0 Auburn run that put the Tigers on top by 20 points.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Avenge a season-ending loss to Clemson in the second round of the 2023 WNIT.
›› Improve the Tigers to 5-4 all-time against Clemson.
›› Give Auburn a second win over a "Power 5" non-conference opponent for the second time in three seasons (2021-22: Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State).
LAST MEETING: March 20, 2023, at Clemson
Clemson 56, Auburn 55 - WNIT Second Round
›› Mar'Shaun Bostic scored a career-high 23 points, but a back-and-forth game saw Auburn unable to score on its final possession as Clemson won 56-55 in the second round of the WNIT.
›› Without two starters who suffered injuries in the fourth quarter, Auburn led 55-54 with less than a minute to go but was called for an offensive foul to give Clemson an opportunity to take the lead. The host Tigers did just that with 21 seconds to play as Daisha Bradford banked in a short jumper to move Clemson ahead.
›› Auburn had the ball for a final possession but was called for a second offensive foul in as many trips down the court with less than three seconds to play, and Clemson inbounded the ball into the backcourt and Auburn was unable to foul.
›› The teams were nearly even from the field – Auburn 23-of-55 (42%) and Clemson 23-of-54 (43%). Both teams made seven free throws, and Clemson hit one more 3-pointer than Auburn. Auburn turned 21 Clemson turnovers into 17 points, but Clemson dominated the glass with 42 rebounds to Auburn's 28.
AUBURN-CLEMSON SERIES
›› This is the ninth meeting between Auburn and Clemson in women's basketball. The two teams have won four times apiece. Auburn is 1-1 in two previous meetings at home.
SCOUTING THE OTHER TIGERS
›› Clemson is 5-3 on the year with wins over Winthrop, Charleston Southern, Mercer, Longwood and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
›› The Tigers average 77.8 points per game while holding opponents to 69.4. Clemson also is one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the ACC, hitting 8.0 per game.
›› Amari Robinson leads Clemson with 17.4 points/game, and Dayshanette Harris is one of the ACC's top point guards, averaging 5.2 assist per game to rank third in the ACC and 40th nationally.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 4-2 after bouncing back from two straight losses to pick up a 68-45 win over Alabama A&M at home Sunday.
›› 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.
›› Sophomore Sydney Shaw scored a career-high 17 points at UCF and has hit double-figures in four of six games. Shaw also led the Tigers with 15 points in the Alabama A&M win. She is second on the team with 10.7 points/game and leads the outside attack with nine 3-pointers. 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 this year.
›› Freshman Savannah Scott has been a force under the basket through the early part of the season, averaging 10.0 points and 5.7 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).
›› 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, then recorded her first Auburn double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds vs. Alabama A&M. She averages 8.0 points and 7.5 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 six 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, and Sumbane started for the first time against Alabama A&M.
›› 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. Mingo-Young leads Auburn with 4.0 assists/game in the three games she has played.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn plays the first of two straight road games, making the short trip up Highway 280 to Birmingham to take on UAB. Game time is 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, at Bartow Arena.
Auburn women host Clemson in ACC/SEC Challenge
