AUBURN, Ala.—The 55th season of Auburn women’s basketball and the first of the Larry Vickers era begins Monday when the Tigers take on the Charlotte 49ers on the road.
Game time is 4:30 p.m. CT at Halton Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Tigers will be opening the season on the road for the first time since 2017.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen will have the radio call on ESPN 106.7 FM beginning at 4:15 p.m. CT. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics app.
›› The game will be televised on ESPN+, which is available via subscription only.
LAST TIME OUT
›› A defensive struggle did not go Auburn’s way as Florida eliminated the Tigers from the 2025 SEC Tournament 60-50 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
›› The Tigers struggled to find an offensive rhythm and were unable to capitalize on an equally poor shooting night by the Gators.
›› In her final game as a Tiger, DeYona Gaston led Auburn with 16 points and 11 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. It was the 23rd time in 30 games for the Houston native to lead Auburn in scoring. Yuting Deng added 10 points with a pair of 3-pointers on the night. Oyindamola Akinbolawa scored nine and Taylen Collins had seven.
›› It was a tough offensive night for the Tigers as they shot a season-low 29.9 percent from the field (20-67) and made just two of 13 3-point attempts. Both teams thrived on second-chance attempts – Auburn scored 19 points off 23 offensive rebounds, and Florida had 23 points on 17 offensive boards.
The difference came at the free-throw line – Florida was a stellar 21-of-23 while Auburn went 8-for-12.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Improve Auburn’s record to 45-10 all-time in season openers.
›› Be the first win of the Larry Vickers era.
›› Improve Auburn’s record to 2-0 against Charlote and 52-12 against current members of the American.
AUBURN-CHARLOTTE SERIES
›› Auburn and Charlotte have met just once before in women’s basketball. The Tigers defeated Charlotte 68-58 on Dec. 29, 2011, in the FIU Sun & Fun Classic in Miami, Fla.
LAST MEETING: Dec. 29, 2011
Auburn 68, Charlotte 58
›› Auburn senior Chantel Hilliard erupted for a career-high 22 points, leading the Tigers to a 68-58 win over Charlotte in the first round of the FIU Sun & Fun Classic.
›› Auburn shot a blazing 64.3 percent from the field in the first half, finishing the game at 55.8 percent. It was a welcomed shooting night for the Tigers as the team had not shot better than 40 percent in each of the last five games.
›› Freshman Hasina Muhammad and sophomore Tyrese Tanner joined Hilliard in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Parrisha Simmons pulled down a team-high five rebounds while Morgan Jennings scored five points with her five assists.
SCOUTING THE 49ERS
›› Much like Auburn, Charlotte returns just two players (one starter) from last year’s squad. The 49ers welcome 6 Division I transfers, 5 junior college transfers and one true freshman.
›› Last season, the 49ers went 11-21 overall and 4-14 in American Conference play. They averaged 59.1 points per game and gave up 66.9.
›› Sophomore guard Zoe Best is the leading scorer from last season on the roster. She averaged 14.1 points at Southeast Missouri and was named OVC Freshman of the Year.
›› Tomekia Reed is in her second season as Charlotte’s head coach. She came from Jackson State, where she won five straight SWAC titles and made three NCAA Tournament appearances.
›› Charlotte assistant coach Aaron Swinson was a first-team All-SEC performer for the Auburn men’s basketball team, playing for the Tigers from 1990-94.
SCOUTING AUBURN - WHO’S BACK
›› Auburn returns just two players from last year’s team, redshirt junior guard Kaitlyn Duhon and sophomore forward Syriah Daniels.
›› Duhon played in eight games last season, averaging 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.1 steals. She suffered an injury on Nov. 30 vs. Kansas and did not play again.
›› Daniels played in 28 games last year, starting six, and averaged 3.6 points and 1.5 rebounds. She was SEC Freshman of the Week after a 14-point, 4-rebound performance against UAB in her first collegiate start.
SCOUTING AUBURN - WHO’S NEW
›› Auburn welcomes 10 new players to the 2025-26 roster: 7 DIvision I transfers, 1 junior college transfer and 2 true freshmen.
›› Senior guard Angena Belloso transferred from FIU where she played in 57 games the last 2 years. She averaged 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists as a junior.
›› Senior guard A’riel Jackson was a three-year starter at Cincinnati, where she averaged 6.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists over 87 games played.
›› A third senior guard, Mya Petticord, transferred from Rutgers, where she averaged 6.7 points per game last year and 10.2 per game as a sophomore.
›› Ja’Mia Harris, a junior guard, came from Texas State where she averaged 10.2 points and 3.5 rebounds as a sophomore last season and was the team’s second-leading scorer.
›› Junior forward Quanirah Montague appeared in all 34 games last year for Mississippi State, averaging 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game.
›› Sophomore Khady Leye was a four-time conference rookie of the week honoree last season at Towson, where she averaged 9.9 points and a team-leading 7.2 rebounds per game. She posted six double-doubles and scored in double-figures 15 times.
›› 6-9 redshirt freshmen Arek Angui came from Central Florida, where she appeared in two games as a true freshman last year. Originally from South Sudan, she played one season of high school basketball at Greenforest Academy in Georgia.
›› Junior Clara Koulibaly came from the junior college ranks, where she started all 28 games last season at Gulf Coast State CC and averaged 12.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
›› True freshmen Sania Richardson (Ada, Okla.) and Harissoum Coulibaly (Paris, France) look to contribute immediately. Richardson was a four-star prospect and a McDonald’s All-American nominee, and Coulibaly was the No. 95 overall prospect according to ESPN.
THE VICKERS ERA BEGINS
›› Larry Vickers was named Auburn’s eighth women’s basketball coach on March 23, 2025.
›› Vickers came to Auburn after spending the last 10 years as head coach at Norfolk State, his alma mater. He led the Spartans to a 177-99 record in those 10 seasons, including three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and four straight MEAC regular-season titles.
›› Known for his defense, his teams had a top-30 scoring defense in each of his last four seasons at Norfolk State. His 2022-23 team had the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense, allowing just 50.7 points per game. That team was also No. 1 nationally in field goal percentage defense at 31.5%.
›› Joining Vickers for his first season on the Plains are new assistant coaches Candice M. Jackson, Caroline McCombs, Rodney Hill, Taja Cole and DQ Gordon. Jackson comes from VCU, where she was an assistant coach, and she was previously head coach at College of Charleston. McCombs returns to Auburn for a second time; she was an assistant here from 2012-14 before taking the head coaching job at Stony Brook (and later George Washington). Hill comes from Texas A&M, where was on staff for two seasons. Cole, a former standout point guard at Georgia and Virginia Tech, enters the collegiate coaching world for the first time. And Gordon was elevated to assistant coach this season after serving as graduate assistant and video coordinator for the Tigers the last three years.
AUBURN IN SEASON OPENERS
›› In 54 previous seasons, Auburn has put together a 44-10 record in season openers (home or away).
›› This is the first time since 2017-18 that Auburn will open the season away from home. Auburn is 14-6 all-time when opening the season away from home.
›› The Tigers are winners of 45 of their last 46 home openers. A 68-66 loss to Georgia Southern in 2021 snapped a streak that dated back to 1980.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn plays its home opener Saturday, Nov. 8, as Alabama State visits Neville Arena for Tip-Off on the Plains. Game time is 1 p.m. CT.