AUBURN, Ala. – Back from the holiday break, the Auburn women's basketball team will close out non-conference play with a New Year's Eve tilt against North Alabama. Game time is 2 p.m. CT Sunday at Neville Arena.
Sunday's giveaway will be an Auburn Women's Basketball 2024 calendar. Supplies are limited, so fans are encouraged to arrive early to pick up their calendar. Arena doors open at 1 p.m. CT.
The Tigers (10-2) are on a seven-game winning streak and look to close out an unbeaten December for the second time in three years under Harris. Auburn went into the break on a high note with a 69-62 win over Washington State Dec. 20, their third victory over a Power Five non-conference opponent this season.
Tickets are available in advance at AUBTix.com and also at the arena ticket office on gameday.
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 + with Brad Law and Hall-of-Fame coach Joe Ciampi on the call. SEC Network + is available via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson scored all 17 of her points in the second half to lead Auburn to a 69-62 comeback win over Washington State Wednesday afternoon at Neville Arena, the Tigers' seventh consecutive victory.
›› JaMya Mingo-Young flirted with a triple-double, scoring 12 points and leading Auburn with seven assists and seven rebounds.
›› Trailing by six at halftime, Auburn grabbed the lead with a 9-2 run, going up 35-34 on Scott-Grayson's 3-pointer. The lead changed hands thrice more before Auburn ended the quarter with a 6-0 run to take a five-point advantage into the fourth quarter.
›› Scott-Grayson scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, then added a 3-pointer with 4:29 to play to put the Tigers ahead by 10 before Washington State hit a pair of 3s to pull within four points with 37 seconds to play. Auburn made its last five shots from the floor and made 8 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter to hold off the visitors from the Pac-12.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Improve the Tigers' record to 11-2, their best non-conference mark since 2018-19 (12-1).
›› Give Auburn an eight-game winning streak, the longest since 2018-19 (9 straight).
›› Keep the Tigers unbeaten in December non-conference games under Harris (15-0).
›› Improve Auburn to 15-1 all-time against the ASUN.
AUBURN-NORTH ALABAMA SERIES
›› This is the second meeting between Auburn and North Alabama in women's basketball. The teams' single previous meeting came during the 1974-75 season, an 87-31 Auburn win in a tournament in Athens, Ala.
›› UNA transitioned to Division I beginning with the 2018-19 season.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
›› North Alabama is 4-8 on the year. The Lions own victories over Samford, Fisk, UT Martin and UT Southern.
›› WSU averages 72.1 points per game while giving up 72.3. The Lions are 34th nationally in 3-pointers per game with 8.5, and they lead the ASUN and rank 18th nationally in free-throw percentage at 78.9%.
›› Alexis Callens leads UNA with 17.2 points per game to rank 69th nationally. She also ranks 31st in the nation with 2.8 3-pointers made per game.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 10-2 after seven straight wins, the last coming Dec. 20 at home over Washington State.
›› The Tigers have three road wins this season, the most since winning 10 times on the road in 2018-19.
›› Auburn has recorded three non-conference wins over Power 5 opponents (Rutgers, Clemson, Washington State), the most in a single-season since 2008-09.
›› Graduate student Honesty Scott-Grayson scored a season-high 24 points against Alabama State and had 22 in the win at UAB Dec. 3. She also had 18 points, 5 assists and 5 steals against Clemson. She leads the team with 15.8 points/game and also averages 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
›› JaMya Mingo-Young leads Auburn with 4.3 assists/game in the nine games she has played, and she is third on the team with 8.7 points/game. She leads the SEC and is 9th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.9). She is also third in the league in free-throw percentage (87.2%) and has made 23 consecutive free throws dating back to the UAB game Dec. 10. Mingo-Young scored a season-high 16 points against Clemson, hitting 9-of-11 free throw attempts, then matched her scoring output with 16 against Norfolk State and tied an Auburn record going 12-for-12 at the free-throw line. In the win over Washington State, she flirted with a triple-double with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
›› Sophomore Sydney Shaw scored a career-high 17 points at UCF and has hit double-figures in five games. Shaw also led the Tigers with 15 points in the Alabama A&M win and scored 11 against Clemson. She is fourth on the team with 8.3 points/game and leads the outside attack with 16 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.
›› Senior Taylen Collins scored a season-best 17 points in the win over Alabama State. 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 recorded her first Auburn double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds vs. Alabama A&M. She averages 8.8 points and a team-leading 6.8 rebounds. 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 then had another huge game agains Clemson with 7 points, 4 assists and a career-high 5 steals, then matched a season-high with 12 points at UAB. 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. 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. She showed off her speed against Clemson, especially late in the first half, as she scored 10 points with 3 rebounds and 3 steals. She swiped a career-high 5 steals in just 10 minutes of action vs. Alabama State. Duhon has knocked down a 3-pointer in each of the last two games, her first two of the season.
›› Celia Sumbane and McKenna Eddings, both JUCO All-Americans last season, have played significant minutes in the first several games. Both were huge in the win over Alabama State - Sumbane finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists, all career-highs. Eddings scored 10 points along with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Eddings made her first Division I start vs. California, and Sumbane has started the last seven games.
›› Freshman Savannah Scott made a splash under the basket through the early part of the season, averaging 6.8 points and 4.4 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).
UP NEXT
›› Auburn begins Southeastern Conference play Thursday, Jan. 4, as the Tennessee Lady Volunteers visit Neville Arena. Game time is 7 p.m. CT.
Auburn wraps up non-conference play vs. North Alabama
