AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn hits the road for the first time in nearly a month, traveling to College Station, Texas, for a Sunday showdown with Texas A&M. Game time is 3 p.m. CT at Reed Arena.
The Tigers (11-3, 0-1) look to bounce back after a tough home loss to Tennessee Thursday night in the SEC opener for both teams. Texas A&M (12-2, 0-1) also seeks its first league win after falling on the road at Georgia Thursday.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen will have the radio call on AU100 (100.3 FM) beginning at 2:45 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 Kevin Fitzgerald and Tamika Catchings on the call.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Auburn led by double digits early in the second half, but Tennessee took control the rest of the way to win the SEC opener 75-67 Thursday at Neville Arena, ending the Tigers' eight-game winning streak.
›› Mar'shaun Bostic scored a season-high 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to lead Auburn. Honesty Scott-Grayson added 16 and JaMya Mingo-Young scored 11. Rickea Jackson scored 24 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to lead Tennessee (8-5, 1-0).
›› Leading 40-32 at the half, Scott-Grayson's jumper put Auburn ahead by 10 before the Tigers missed 10 straight shots and the Lady Vols used a 13-0 run to take a three-point lead before Bostic hit a pair of free throws to end the drought. Auburn made only one of its last 15 shots in the third quarter, missing a layup after a steal that would've pulled the Tigers within one. Instead, Tennessee quickly hit a 3-pointer at the other end to take a 54-48 lead heading to the fourth quarter, a pivotal possession.
›› The Tigers made 25 percent of their second-half shots while Tennessee shot 56 percent in the half and 50 percent in the game.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Improve the Tigers' record to 12-3, their best mark through 15 games since 2018-19 (13-2).
›› Be Auburn's first-ever win in College Station.
›› Be Auburn's second-straight win over Texas A&M after losing the first 16 meetings in the series.
›› Snap an 8-game losing streak in the state of Texas (last win: 3/18/16 vs. St. John's in Waco; NCAA 1st Round).
AUBURN-TEXAS A&M SERIES
›› This is the 18th meeting between Auburn and Texas A&M. The Aggies won the first 16 meetings before Auburn broke through with a home victory last season. Auburn is 0-7 in College Station.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 16, 2023, at Auburn
Auburn 65, Texas A&M 55
›› Aicha Coulibaly scored 18 points, and Auburn overcame an eight-point deficit in the second half to defeat Texas A&M 65-55 Thursday at Neville Arena, the Tigers' first victory vs. the Aggies in program history in the teams' 17th meeting.
›› On a night when Auburn missed a dozen free throws, Sania Wells secured Auburn's historic win by going 10-for-10 from the line in the fourth quarter. Wells scored all of Auburn's points during a game-ending 10-2 run that turned a two-point lead into a 10-point victory.
›› Auburn made 12 steals while forcing 29 Aggie turnovers, the most by an SEC opponent this season. The Tigers committed 22 turnovers but still managed to outscore Texas A&M 24-20 in points off turnovers.
›› The victory secured a .500 regular season record for Auburn and doubled last season's SEC victory total.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
›› Texas A&M is 12-2 overall and 0-1 in SEC play. The Aggies are receiving votes in the AP poll.
›› The Aggies average 74.9 points per game and lead the SEC rank second nationally in scoring defense at 49.2 points allowed per game. They are No. 3 nationally in field goal percentage defense (31.5%), No. 4 in rebounds per game (48.8) and No. 9 in 3-point defense (23.6%)
›› Janiah Barker leads A&M with 12.6 points per game with three others averaging double figures. Lauren Ware is the Aggies' top rebounder at 9.2/game.
AUBURN-AGGIE TIES
›› Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris was an assistant coach at Texas A&M from 2007-12, helping lead the Aggies to the 2011 NCAA Championship.
›› Auburn associate head coach Damitria Buchanan played for Harris and the Aggies from 2007-10, helping guide A&M to three BIg 12 Conference titles and four top-25 finishes.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 11-3 overall, 0-1 in SEC play. An eight-game win streak was snapped with a 75-67 loss to Tennessee Thursday in the SEC opener.
›› 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 15.5 points/game and also averages 4.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists.
›› JaMya Mingo-Young leads Auburn with 4.4 assists/game in the 11 games she has played, and she is second on the team with 9.3 points/game. She leads the SEC and is 9th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.7). She is also second in the league in free-throw percentage (88.4%) and has made 27 consecutive free throws dating back to the UAB game Dec. 3. 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 has flirted with a triple-double two straight games with 13 points/10 rebounds/7 assists vs. North Alabama (12/31) and 12/7/7 vs. Washington State (12/20).
›› 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 8.5 points and a team-leading 6.4 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. 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, plays significant minutes at point guard and can be one of the SEC's top defenders.
›› 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 7.9 points/game and leads the outside attack with 18 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.
›› 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 scored a career-high 14 points and was 4-of-5 from 3-point range vs. North Alabama. Eddings made her first Division I start vs. California, and Sumbane has started the last nine games.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn stays on the road for its next game, traveling to Oxford, Miss., to take on the Ole Miss Rebels on Thursday, Jan. 11. Game time is 6:30 p.m. at the SJB Pavilion.
Tigers face first SEC road test at Texas A&M
