AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women’s basketball team plays its second of three home games to open the 2024-25 season Friday night when the Tigers host Virginia University of Lynchburg at Neville Arena. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
Friday’s game is the annual Beat Bama Food Drive night. Fans can bring a non-perishable food item to donate and receive a $5 concession voucher. Doors open at 5 p.m. CT.
Single-game and season tickets are available at the Neville Arena ticket office, online at AUBTix.com or by calling 855-282-2010.
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 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 Wiley Ballard and hall-of-famer Joe Ciampi calling the action. SECN+ is available via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Audia Young scored a career-high 11 points to help Auburn defeat Southern Illinois 65-31 Monday in Tipoff on The Plains at Neville Arena.
›› In her Auburn debut, transfer DeYona Gaston led four Tigers in double figures with 14 points. Celia Sumbane scored a career-high 13 points and Kaitlyn Duhon added 12 points, six rebounds and three steals. Young added four steals, sharing the team lead with Taylen Collins, who led Auburn with 10 rebounds.
›› Freshman Jordan Hunter also made an instant impact, grabbing five rebounds and distributing four assists in 8 first-half minutes while finishing with six of each.
›› Leading by a dozen at halftime, Auburn doubled the lead during a 13-1 run in the third quarter on Young’s third 3-pointer. Auburn’s signature trait in the Coach J era, the Tigers forced 29 turnovers resulting in 23 points.
›› Ater a cold-shooting start, Auburn heated up in the second quarter, outscoring the Salukis 19-8 to build a 27-15 halftime lead. The Tigers held SIU to 20-percent shooting for the game.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Give Auburn a 2-0 start for the third straight season.
›› Be the 999th win in program history.
AUBURN-VUL SERIES
›› Auburn and Virginia University-Lynchburg are meeting for the first time.
SCOUTING THE DRAGONS
›› Virginia University of Lynchburg is a private HBCU with an enrollment of approximately 750 students. Their athletic teams compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA).
›› Little is known about this VUL team. The school did not field a women’s basketball team in 2023-24, and all of its players are new to the school this year.
›› The Dragons’ 12-player roster features four transfers from four-year schools, three who played at the junior college level last season, and five true freshmen.
›› The Dragons have played one countable game this season, falling at Big East opponent Georgetown 88-31 on Wednesday. Karrin Purchas led the Dragons with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists.
›› VUL is scheduled to face seven NCAA Division I opponents this season: Georgetown, Auburn, George Washington, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Kent State, Norfolk State and Delaware State.
›› Head Coach Marquis Lewis is in his first season at VUL. He was previously an assistant coach at Harcum College, where he helped their team to the NJCAA Tournament two straight years.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 1-0 after a 65-31 win over Southern Illinois to open the season Nov. 4. 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 led Auburn in the opener with 14 points along with 8 rebounds. She 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.
›› 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.
›› Senior Mar’Shaun Bostic ran the point for Auburn on opening night, finishing with four assists. 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.
›› 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. Sumbane scored a career-high 13 points with 8 rebounds in the opener vs. SIU.
›› 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 game with injury.
›› 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.
›› 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.
DEFENSE IS OUR STRENGTH
›› Auburn’s season-opening 65-31 win over Southern Illinois showed off the Tigers’ defensive prowess in a big way. The 31 points scored by SIU were:
• The fewest allowed under Johnnie Harris
• The fewest allowed by Auburn since 2015 (def. Georgia 44-26)
• The second-fewest every scored by an opponent in Neville Arena (Presbyterian, 27 in 2013)
• The fewest in a season-opener since 2006 (def. Western Carolina 91-23)
UP NEXT
›› Auburn plays its final home game for nearly a month when the Tigers host Little Rock on Thursday, Nov. 14. Game time is 7 p.m. CT at Neville Arena with a national broadcast on SEC Network.