AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn women’s basketball looks to wrap up its season-opening three-game home stand on a high note Thursday night when the Tigers host Little Rock at Neville Arena. Game time is 7 p.m. CT.
Thursday’s game will be the annual Military Appreciation game with paracord bracelets available at the door for fans. Doors open at 6 p.m.
It’s the last home game for Auburn for more than three weeks as the Tigers won’t be back in Neville Arena until Dec. 8. Tickets are available in advance at AUBTix.com or by calling 855-282-2010; tickets will also be available at the Neville Arena ticket office on gameday.
PARKING INFO (NEW FOR 2024-25)
›› The Neville Arena parking lot is now a reserved permit-only lot for premium reserved season-ticket holders. This lot will only be accessible with a parking pass. Parking for all other fans is available in the Campus Safety Lot, Coliseum Lot and Stadium Deck.
›› Accessible parking is available in the Neville Arena parking lot with a valid state-issued ADA hang tag or license plate. This will be strictly enforced. These areas will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Additional accessible parking is available in the lots at the corner of Wire Road and Extension Loop, Campus Safety and Coliseum lot.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara will have the radio call on ESPN 106.7 FM beginning at 6:45 p.m. CT. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics app.
›› The game will be nationally televised on SEC Network with Sam Gore and Tamika Catchings calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Reaching the century mark for the first time in 16 years, Auburn overwhelmed Viriginia University of Lynchburg 128-36 Friday night at Neville Arena. Auburn set records for most points in a quarter (37), half (68), total points (128) and margin of victory (92).
›› DeYona Gaston led seven Tigers in double figures with a Neville Arena-record 36 points and 11 rebounds, the most points scored since Conswella Sparrow set the all-time Auburn record with 41 in 1998.
›› Celia Sumbane scored 19 points, Audia Young added 18, Kaitlyn Duhon scored 13 and Taylen Collins added 11. Freshmen Jordan Hunter and Syriah Daniels reached double figures for the first time, scoring 15 and 12, respectively.
›› Leading 68-20 at the half, the Tigers scored the first 21 points of the third quarter, a run that ended when Sumbane made a steal and left the ball for Gaston to bank in for her 1,000th career point.
›› Leading 99-26 after three quarters, Gaston’s points in the paint to open the fourth quarter put Auburn into triple digits for the first time since scoring 119 vs. Sam Houston State on Dec. 5, 2008.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Be the 1,000th win in program history.
›› Give Auburn a 3-0 start for the second straight season.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000
›› Auburn’s next win will be the 1,000th in program history, dating back to the establishment of women’s basketball as a varsity sport in 1971-72.
›› Auburn will be the 32nd NCAA Division I program and sixth current SEC member to reach the 1,000-win plateau.
AUBURN-LITTLE ROCK SERIES
›› Auburn and Little Rock are playing for the fourth straight season and fifth time overall. The Tigers lead the series 3-1. This is the second meeting in Neville Arena; the last was a 70-48 win in 2022.
›› Auburn is 11-2 all-time against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference (5-1 vs. Tennessee Tech; 3-1 vs. Little Rock; 2-0 vs. Tennessee State, 1-0 vs. UT Martin).
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
›› Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris saw her coaching career launched at Little Rock. Her first collegiate coaching job was as an assistant coach for the Trojans from 1999-2001 as the program restarted after an 11-year hiatus.
LAST MEETING: Dec. 10, 2023 in Little Rock
Auburn 58, Little Rock 45
›› Auburn put together a strong defensive effort and held off a late Little Rock run to earn a 58-45 win on the road at the Jack Stephens Center.
›› The Tigers used a big second quarter to build a 16-point halftime lead, then overcame a foul-heavy fourth quarter to hold on for their third road victory of the season and fourth straight win overall.
›› JaMya Mingo-Young, making her first Auburn start, had a big day with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists. She was 3-for-5 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 at the free-throw line. Honesty Scott-Grayson led the Tigers with 12 points along with two steals and a pair of assists.
›› Auburn shot 41.5 percent (22-53) while Little Rock was slightly better at 43.9 percent (18-41). The Tigers used their defense to create offense, turning 19 turnovers into 20 points while outscoring the Trojans on the fast break 12-1.
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
›› Little Rock is 1-1 on the year. The Trojans defeated NAIA foe Central Baptist 88-43 in their season-opener before dropping a 71-60 OT heartbreaker to Arkansas Monday night.
›› Through two games, LR is averaging 74.0 points per game while giving up 57.0.
›› Steve Wiedower is in his first year as the Trojans’ head coach following the retirement of longtime coach Joe Foley following last season. Wiedower was an assistant to Foley for 15 years before assuming the head coaching role.
›› Faith Lee leads the Trojans with 20.5 points per game; she was Little Rock’s leading scorer last year with 14.5 points/game.
›› Little Rock was picked to finish fifth in the OVC. The Trojans finished 12-18 overall, 11-7 in OVC play last year.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 2-0 after a 65-31 win over Southern Illinois to open the season Nov.4, followed by a record-setting 128-36 rout of non-NCAA foe Virginia-Lynchburg Nov. 8. The Tigers return two starters and nine letterwinners from the 2023-24 team that finished 20-12 overall, 8-8 in SEC play, and earned an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since 2019.
›› Graduate student DeYona Gaston set a Neville Arena record for an Auburn player with 36 points in the win over VUL. She also recorded her 1,000th career point and 500th career rebound in that victory. Gaston was the Big 12 Sixth Player of the Year at Texas last season; she averaged 8.4 points and 4.2 rebounds off the bench for the Longhorns.
›› Graduate student Taylen Collins is the Tigers’ leading returning scorer (7.9 ppg) and rebounder (6.3 rpg). She held or shared the team lead in rebounds in 16 games last year and led the team with three double-doubles. Her best game of the season came in a win over Kentucky when she scored a season-high 19 points along with 11 rebounds. She had 8 points and 11 rebounds and 4 steals in the Tigers’ opener vs. Southern Illinois, then scored 11 points vs. VUL.
›› Senior Mar’Shaun Bostic ran the point for Auburn on opening night, finishing with four assists; she added six assists off the bench vs. VUL. Last season, she averaged 5.9 points and leads the Tigers’ returners with 81 assists (2.6/game). One of the fastest players and top defenders in the SEC, she led the Tigers with 1.6 steals per game in 2023-24.
›› Junior Kaitlyn Duhon played in 31 of 32 games last season and looks to see significant minutes for the Tigers this year. Another elite defender, Duhon averaged 1.2 steals per game while scoring 5.4 points/game. Duhon was strong in the opener with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals off the bench, then bested that effort vs. VUL with 13 points, 3 assists and 4 steals.
›› Senior Celia Sumbane scored a career-high 19 points with 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals vs. VUL. She will see plenty of playing time at the 2/3 - she averaged 3.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 15.6 minutes/game last year.
›› Sophomore Audia Young opened the season with a bang, scoring a career-high 11 points on 3-4 3FG along with four steals vs. SIU. She then set another career high vs. VUL with 18 points, 4 assists and 5 steals.
›› True freshmen Jordan Hunter and Syriah Daniels - two of the top high school players in Alabama a year ago - saw their first collegiate action vs. SIU. Hunter had 6 assists and 4 rebounds off the bench in the opener, then went 7-for-7 from the field for 15 points along with 6 assists vs. VUL. Daniels had 12 points and 4 steals in the VUL win.
›› Junior Oyindamola Akinbolawa (6-5) and sophomore Yakiya Milton (6-4) are in the mix for playing time in the post. Akinbolawa was steadily improving last season and made a big impact in the historic win over LSU but missed the second half of SEC play with a thumb injury. Milton saw her minutes increase as the season went on, earning a pair of starts late in the year and finishing on a high note with a season-best 8 points and 3 blocks in the NCAA Tournament game vs. Arizona.
›› Sophomore Taliah Scott, a transfer from Arkansas, averaged 22.1 points to lead the Razorbacks last season and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. She missed the first two games with injury.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn begins a three-week, six-game road swing with a trip to the West Coast as the Tigers take on the 25th-ranked Oregon Ducks on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Game time is 8 p.m. CT at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.