AUBURN, Ala. – The 54th varsity season of Auburn women’s basketball officially gets underway Monday night when the Tigers host Southern Illinois at Neville Arena for Tipoff on the Plains. Game time is 6 p.m. CT.
Fans in attendance can pick up the official 2024-25 women’s basketball poster, along with rally towels, glow sticks and shakers to “Gear Up for Gameday.”
Season tickets are still available beginning at $50, and single-game tickets are on sale in advance and at the arena ticket office. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit AUBTix.com or call 855-282-2010.
PARKING INFO
›› New for the 2024-25 season, 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.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara will have the radio call on ESPN 106.7 FM beginning at 5:45 p.m. CT. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics app.
›› The game will be televised on SEC Network + with JJ Jackson and hall-of-famer Joe Ciampi calling the action. SECN+ is available via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app.
IN THE RANKINGS
›› Auburn is receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Led by 32 points and 14 rebounds from DeYona Gaston, three players recorded double-doubles for Auburn women’s basketball in a 106-26 win over LaGrange Thursday night in the Tigers’ lone exhibition matchup at Neville Arena.
›› Taylen Collins added 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Mar’Shaun Bostic had 12 points, 13 assists and eight steals on a night when Auburn started hot and stayed hot on both ends of the floor.
›› The Tigers shot 57 percent (45-79) from the field, assisting on 31 of the 45 made field goals, with 80 of their 106 points coming in the paint.
›› Gaston was a stellar 15-of-17 from the field while adding four assists, three steals and a block in her first time on the floor at Neville Arena. Collins was 10-of-16 shooting, and Bostic was a perfect 6-of-6.
›› Three others scored in double figures for Auburn. Oyindamola Akinbolawa, Audia Young and Jordan Hunter all scored 10 points, and Celia Sumbane added nine. Syriah Daniels also filled the stat sheet with four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Improve Auburn’s record for 44-10 all-time in season openers.
›› Be Auburn’s 45th win in its last 46 home openers.
›› Be the 998th win in program history.
AUBURN-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SERIES
›› Auburn and Southern Illinois have met just once before in women’s basketball. The 10th-ranked Tigers hosted SIU in the second round of the 1986 NCAA Tournament at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum, earning a 61-39 win to advance to the Sweet 16.
SCOUTING THE SALUKIS
›› Southern Illinois has almost a completely new roster, returning just four players (no starters) from last year’s team that finished 11-20 overall, 6-14 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
›› Last season, the Salukis averaged 65.7 points per game while allowing 68.4.
›› Senior guard Se’Quoia Allmond is SIU’s leading returner in most categories with 5.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
›› SIU was picked to finish 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference in a preseason poll.
FAMILY REUNION
›› SIU head coach Kelly Bond-White is no stranger to two members of the Auburn coaching staff. Prior to taking the SIU job in 2022, she spent 19 seasons as part of Gary Blair’s staff at Texas A&M, working alongside Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris while she was an assistant there. Bond-White also coached Auburn associate head coach Damitria Buchanan while she played for the Aggies.
SCOUTING AUBURN - WHO’S BACK
›› Auburn returns 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 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.
›› Collins enters her final season of collegiate eligibility with 1,005 career points; she scored her 1,000th career point in the Tigers’ NCAA Tournament game vs. Arizona on March 23.
›› Senior Mar’Shaun Bostic looks to be the team’s starting point guard on opening night. 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. Senior Celia Sumbane will also 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.
›› Junior Oyindamola Akinbolawa (6-5) and sophomore Yakiya Milton (6-4) will be 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.
SCOUTING AUBURN - THE NEWCOMERS
›› 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.
›› Graduate student DeYona 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 and recorded two double-doubles.
›› True freshmen Jordan Hunter and Syriah Daniels - two of the top high school players in Alabama a year ago - will see their first collegiate action this week.
AUBURN IN SEASON OPENERS
›› In 53 previous seasons, Auburn has put together a 43-10 record in season openers (home or away) and sports a 31-4 record when playing the first game of the season at home.
›› The Tigers are winners of 44 of their last 45 home openers. A 68-66 loss to Georgia Southern in 2021 snapped a streak that dated back to 1980.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn continues a three-game home stand to open the season as the Tigers host Virginia University-Lynchburg on Friday, Nov. 8. Game time is 6 p.m. CT.