FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After two-plus weeks at home, the Auburn women's basketball team hits the road for four of its next five games, beginning with a Sunday afternoon contest at Arkansas. Game time is 5 p.m. CT at Bud Walton Arena.
The Tigers (14-7, 3-5 SEC) are looking for their first road win in SEC play after winning three of their last four at home. Despite a career-best 31 points from Honesty Scott-Grayson, the Tigers came up short to No. 1 South Carolina at home Thursday night in their last game. Arkansas (16-7, 4-4) also looks to bounce back after falling at home to Alabama Thursday.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen will have the radio call on AU100 (100.3 FM) beginning at 4:45 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 Brenda VanLengen and Aja Ellison calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson equaled her career high with 31 points and Auburn held No. 1 South Carolina to its lowest-scoring half of the SEC season, but the Gamecocks defeated the Tigers 76-54 Thursday at Neville Arena.
›› The Tigers held the top-ranked Gamecocks to 27 points in the first half, limiting the visitors to 28.6-percent shooting through the first two quarters. Auburn held the nation's top long-distance shooter, Te-Hina Paopao, to just one 3-pointer on four attempts.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Secure a winning regular-season record with a 15th win.
›› Be the 992nd win in program history.
›› Snap a six-game skid against Arkansas.
AUBURN-ARKANSAS SERIES
›› Auburn is 23-21 all-time against Arkansas, and the series is tied 10-10 in Fayetteville.
›› The last three contests between the teams have been decided by five points or less, and the last six meetings in Fayetteville (dating back to 2014) have been decided by 10 points or less.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 5, 2023, at Auburn
Arkansas 54, Auburn 51
›› Auburn overcame a 15-point second-half deficit and had two chances to take the lead in the final seconds before falling to Arkansas 54-51, ending the Tigers' three-game SEC win streak.
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson led Auburn with 11 points while Duhon grabbed seven rebounds to pace the Tigers.
›› Auburn turned up the defensive intensity in the fourth quarter, holding Arkansas to two field goals on 16 attempts, but the Tigers committed five turnovers in the final quarter and were 7 of 14 from the free-throw line.
SCOUTING THE RAZORBACKS
›› Arkansas is 16-7 overall and 4-4 in SEC play. The Razorbacks are 8-4 at Bud Walton Arena this season.
›› The Razorbacks average 72.7 points per game while holding opponents to 65.1. Arkansas leads the SEC and ranks sixth nationally in 3-pointers made per game at 9.5. Arkansas is also the league's best at taking care of the ball with just 12.7 turnovers per game.
›› Freshman Taliah Scott, Arkansas' leading scorer with 21.5 points/game, returned to the lineup Thursday vs. Alabama after missing the previous six games with injury.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 14-7 overall, 3-5 in SEC play after a tough battle with No. 1 South Carolina came up short Thursday night.
›› The Tigers have three road wins this season, the most since winning 10 times on the road in 2018-19.
›› Auburn has two top-30 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 matched a career-high with 31 points vs. No. 1 South Carolina on Feb. 1. It was the third 30+ point game of her career and her fifth game with at least 20 points this season. 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 17.0 points/game and also averages 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists. She averages 19.3 points/game in SEC play (5th in SEC), has scored in double figures in every SEC game and 19 out of 20 games she has played this year.
›› JaMya Mingo-Young leads Auburn with 3.9 assists/game, and she is second on the team with 9.1 points/game. She is third in the SEC and 24th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (2.6). She is also third in the league in free-throw percentage (83.1%) 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 6.4 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. 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 23 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 six games.
›› Freshman Savannah Scott has seen a resurgence since moving back into the starting lineup vs. Alabama, averaging 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds over the last three games. For the season, she averages 5.3 points and 3.7 rebounds, and she was SEC Freshman of the Week the opening week of the season after a double-double at Rutgers.
SHUT IT DOWN
›› Auburn's defense has been among the best in the SEC so far this year. In eight SEC games, Auburn is holding opponents an average of 13.0 points below their season scoring average. Auburn's scoring defense is second in the league in SEC games at 63.0, behind only top-ranked South Carolina.
›› The biggest example was Auburn's home win over No. 7 LSU where the visiting Tigers - at the time the nation's top scoring team - were held to 62 points, their lowest total of the season and more than 27 points below their season average (as of 2/1).
›› The last five opponents have all been held at least 10 points below their season average - South Carolina (13.3), Georgia (16.1), Alabama (10.0), Vanderbilt (18.1) and LSU (27.8).
UP NEXT
›› After a Thursday night off, the Tigers are back on the road next Sunday for a showdown with the Missouri Tigers in Columbia, Mo. Game time is 1 p.m. CT at Mizzou Arena.
Auburn women ready for road test at Arkansas
