Auburn women head to Virginia for SEC/ACC Challenge

The Tigers look to win their second SEC/ACC Challenge game in as many years Thursday night in Charlottesville.

by Wes Todd
Auburn women head to Virginia for SEC/ACC ChallengeAuburn women head to Virginia for SEC/ACC Challenge
David Gray/Auburn Tigers

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The sixth and final game of Auburn’s three-week road trip will take place Thursday night when the Tigers take on the Virginia Cavaliers in the women’s basketball SEC/ACC Challenge. Game time is 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT at John Paul Jones Arena.

The Tigers (5-3) are looking to bounce back after coming up just short in the Paradise Jam finale, where they dropped a 61-60 heartbreaker to Kansas. Virginia (6-3) comes into Thursday’s game off a pair of losses to Washington State and Wyoming at last week’s Puerto Rico Shootout.

This is the second year of the SEC/ACC Challenge. Last season, Auburn defeated Clemson 83-53 at home to clinch a tie between the leagues in the last game played of the event.

ON THE AIR
››     Brit Bowen will have the radio call on ESPN 106.7 FM beginning at 4:45 p.m. CT. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics app.
››     The game will be televised nationally on ACC Network with Jay Alter and Kelly Gramlich calling the action. 

LAST TIME OUT
››     Three Tigers scored in double figures, but Auburn was unable to hold a 12-point halftime lead in a 61-60 loss to Kansas Saturday afternoon in their final game of the Paradise Jam.
››     The Tigers led 60-54 with less than a minute to play, but Kansas finished the game on a 7-0 run, and Auburn was unable to get a shot to fall before the buzzer.
››     Celia Sumbane led Auburn with 16 points along with four rebounds. DeYona Gaston just missed her second straight double-double with nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Taylen Collins and Kaitlyn Duhon scored 10 points each, and Mar’Shaun Bostic had a game-high seven assists. Gaston and Sumbane were named to the Paradise Jam all-tournament team.

AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
››     Be the Tigers’ first true road win of the year.
››     Improve Auburn to 2-0 in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
››     Improve the Tigers to 49-31 all-time against ACC opponents, 2-1 this season.

SERIES HISTORY VS. VIRGINIA
››     This is the seventh all-time meeting between Auburn and Virginia. The Cavaliers are 5-1 all-time against the Tigers with the series even at one game apiece in Charlottesville.
››     Auburn is 48-31 against the ACC; Virginia is the third of three ACC teams Auburn will face this year (California, Pittsburgh).

LAST MEETING: Nov. 19, 2015, at Auburn
Virginia 69, Auburn 52
››     Freshman Janiah McKay scored a team-best 16 points, but a big second quarter helped lead Virginia to a 69-52 win over Auburn.
››     The Tigers committed a season-high 20 turnovers, leading to 24 Virginia points. The offensive difference for Virginia came at the free-throw line where the Cavaliers were 20-of-24 (83.3%) while Auburn was just 8-of-15 (53.3%).
››     Katie Frerking and Brandy Montgomery had eight points apiece, and Jazmine Jones was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor, scoring seven points. Tra’Cee Tanner finished with six points and a game-high nine rebounds.

SCOUTING VIRGINIA
››     Virginia is 6-3 this year after going 1-2 last week at the Puerto Rico Shootout, defeating Green Bay and falling to Washington State and Wyoming.
››     Auburn is the second SEC team UVA has faced this year; the Cavaliers fell at then-No. 10 Oklahoma 95-51 on Nov. 8.
››     Virginia averages 76.3 points per game while allowing 61.8 per game. The Cavaliers are one of the nation’s top rebounding and shot-blocking teams, averaging 46.0 rebounds/game (10th NCAA) and 5.8 blocks/game (14th NCAA).
››     Kymora Johnson leads UVA with 18.8 points per game. Latasha Lattimore is the Hoos’ leading rebounder with 9.1/game.

SCOUTING AUBURN
››     Auburn is 5-3 after going 2-1 at the Paradise Jam last week, defeating Northern Iowa and Pittsburgh before falling to Kansas.
››     Through games of Dec. 2, Auburn is top 30 nationally in 3-point percentage (5th - 41.5%), scoring defense (18th - 52.9), turnover margin (23rd - +7.6) and turnovers forced per game (27th - 22.8).
››     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. She has three double-doubles so far this season, including a 28-point, 10-rebound performance against PItt in the Paradise Jam. She leads the Tigers with 19.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. She also hit a corner 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left to beat Northern Iowa on Nov. 28; it was just the second 3-pointer of her five-year collegiate career.
››     Sophomore Taliah Scott, a transfer from Arkansas, made a splash in her Auburn debut, tying the program record for single-game 3-pointers with eight in the Tigers’ win over Little Rock Nov. 14. She scored 26 points in the game along with a career-high 9 rebounds. She followed that up with a 28-point night at Oregon where she knocked down seven 3-pointers.
››     Graduate student Taylen Collins averages 8.6 points and 6.0 rebounds so far this season. She was the Tigers’ leading returning scorer (7.9 ppg) and rebounder (6.3 rpg) from last season. She hit double-digit scoring twice at the Paradise Jam last week and had 10 rebounds in the win over Pitt.
››     Senior Mar’Shaun Bostic has been the Tigers’ starting point guard most of the season, currently ranking fifth in the SEC with 5.1 assists per game. She’s had five or more assists in five of eight games so far. One of the fastest players and top defenders in the SEC, she led the Tigers with 1.6 steals per game in 2023-24 and is averaging 1.9 steals this year.
››     Junior Kaitlyn Duhon had a strong showing at the Paradise Jam, scoring 10 points with a pair of 3-pointers vs. Kansas, and turning four steals into eight points vs. UNI. Another elite defender, Duhon averaged 1.2 steals per game while scoring 5.4 points/game last season. 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 was then named to the Paradise Jam all-tournament team after averaging 10.2 points in the tournament, including 16 in the final game vs. Kansas. She leads the Tigers in field goal percentage at 58.7%.
››     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. She hit double-digits a third time with 11 points in the win over Pitt, which included three 3-pointers.
››     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.

UP NEXT
››     After 24 days and more than 9,800 miles of traveling, the Tigers are finally back home Sunday to take on UAB. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. CT start; it’s part of a doubleheader with the Auburn men’s team, who faces Richmond at 11 a.m.