AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn women's basketball will wrap up a three-game homestand Thursday night when top-ranked South Carolina visits Neville Arena for a 7 p.m. CT tip.
Thursday's game will be the Black History Month Celebration game with several promotions planned, including a halftime step show and a pregame performance of Lift Every Voice and Sing. Arena doors will open at 6 p.m.
For Auburn students, Thursday's game is the Sorority Challenge with incentives available for the sororities with the highest attendance.
The Tigers (14-6, 3-4 SEC) are coming off two straight wins, the last being a 67-49 victory over Georgia Monday night. No. 1 South Carolina (19-0, 7-0) is the nation's only remaining unbeaten team and defeated Vanderbilt 91-74 in their last contest.
Tickets are available in advance via AUBTix.com or 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 6:45 p.m. CT. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics app.
›› Thursday's game can be seen on SEC Network + with JJ Jackson and Brad Law calling the action. SEC Network + is available via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Auburn used tenacious defense and 21 points from Honesty Scott-Grayson to defeat Georgia 67-49 Monday, the Tigers' third consecutive SEC victory at Neville Arena.
›› Playing for the first time in eight days after knocking off LSU and Alabama at home, Auburn made 14 steals, outrebounded the Bulldogs 38-34 and held Georgia to 34.7-percent shooting to improve to 11-2 at Neville Arena this season.
›› Mar'shaun Bostic led Auburn with five steals and four assists, adding five rebounds. Auburn forced 23 turnovers and outscored Georgia 17-13 in points off turnovers.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Be Auburn's first win over a No. 1 team since the 1990 Final Four (81-69 over Louisiana Tech).
›› Give Auburn four straight home wins in SEC play for the first time since the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons (last two games of 2012; first two of 2013).
›› Be Auburn's 12th home win of the season.
›› Snap a 14-game skid against South Carolina.
›› Be Auburn's second win over a ranked opponent this season and the fifth under Harris.
›› Secure a winning regular-season record with a 15th win.
AUBURN-SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES
›› Auburn is 21-29 all-time against South Carolina, but the Gamecocks have won the last 14 meetings dating back to 2013. The series is tied 12-12 in games played in Auburn.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 9, 2023, at Auburn
#1 South Carolina 83, Auburn 48
›› Sydney Shaw equaled her career high with 15 points to lead Auburn, but the Tigers fell to No. 1 South Carolina 83-48 Thursday at Neville Arena, the Gamecocks' 30th consecutive win.
›› Mar'shaun Bostic scored 10 points in 11 minutes for the Tigers. Akinbolawa led Auburn with seven rebounds and Romi Levy added six.
›› The top-ranked Gamecocks capitalized on their size advantage, outrebounding Auburn 50-26 and outscoring the Tigers 52-22 in the paint.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
›› South Carolina is 19-0 overall, 7-0 in SEC play and ranked No. 1 in both national polls and the NCAA NET rankings.
›› The Gamecocks average 90.0 points per game, the second-best scoring offense in the nation, while holding opponents to 54.2. Carolina leads the nation in field goal percentage (52.3%), 3-point percentage (42.5%), field goal defense (30.8%), blocks per game (8.6), defensive rebounds per game (33.9), and scoring margin (+35.8).
›› 6-7 center Kamilla Cardoso averages a double-double, leading Carolina in scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (10.3). Te-Hina Paopao is the nation's top 3-point shooter at 50.5% (46-91).
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 14-6 overall, 3-4 in SEC play following its third straight SEC home win over Georgia Monday night.
›› The Tigers have three road wins this season, the most since winning 10 times on the road in 2018-19.
›› Auburn has two "Quad 1" wins this year, defeating NET No. 14 LSU and No. 21 Washington State, both at home.
›› The Tigers are 12-0 this season when shooting at least 40% from the field.
›› 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 was named SEC Player of the Week after a 21-point performance in the win over LSU, then matched that output with 21 in the win over Georgia. She leads the team with 16.2 points/game and also averages 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists. She averages 17.6 points/game in SEC play, has scored in double figures in every SEC game and 18 out of 19 games she has played this year.
›› JaMya Mingo-Young leads Auburn with 3.9 assists/game, and she is second on the team with 9.4 points/game (9.7 in SEC play). She is third in the SEC and 23rd nationally in assist/turnover ratio (2.6). She is also third in the league in free-throw percentage (82.6%) and made 29 consecutive free throws from the UAB game Dec. 3 until finally missing at Texas A&M Jan. 7. 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. She made the highlight-reel play of the season to clinch the win over LSU, stealing the ball from Angel Reese and drawing a foul with 10 seconds to play and Auburn leading by 2, then sinking both free throws to secure the win.
›› 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 8.1 points and a team-leading 6.3 rebounds.
›› Junior Mar'Shaun Bostic scored a season-high 17 points on 7-11 shooting vs. Tennessee. She had a huge game in the opener vs. Jacksonville State 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. Another big game for her came against Georgia when she had 4 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals.
›› Sophomore Sydney Shaw scored a career-high 17 points at UCF and has hit double-figures in six 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 6.3 points/game and leads the outside attack with 21 3-pointers.
›› 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, and she has started the last five games.
›› Celia Sumbane and McKenna Eddings, both JUCO All-Americans last season, have played significant minutes.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 scored a career-high 14 points and was 4-of-5 from 3-point range vs. North Alabama, and she hit a key 3-pointer in the win over LSU. Eddings made her first Division I start vs. California, and Sumbane has started 10 games.
AUBURN VS. NUMBER ONE
›› This will mark Auburn's 22nd contest against the nation's top-ranked team (AP or Coaches' polls) in history. The Tigers are 2-19 all-time against teams carrying the No. 1 ranking. It will be the seventh time for Auburn to face South Carolina when the Gamecocks are atop a national poll (sixth straight).
›› Auburn's last win over a No. 1 team came on March 30, 1990, when the Tigers defeated top-ranked Louisiana Tech 81-69 in the 1990 Final Four in Knoxville, Tenn.
›› The Tigers' last six meetings with a No. 1 team also came against South Carolina. Auburn also faced Dawn Staley as a player in a matchup with No. 1 Virginia on Jan. 5, 1992, in Auburn; UVA won 77-70.
›› This will be the third time a No. 1 team has visited Neville Arena (South Carolina, 2021 and 2023) and the 10th overall time Auburn has hosted the No. 1 team.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn hits the road for the first time in more than two weeks when they travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. Game time is 5 p.m. CT Sunday at Bud Walton Arena with the broadcast on SEC Network.
Tigers welcome top-ranked Gamecocks Thursday night
