AUBURN, Ala.—It’s Tipoff on the Plains Saturday as the Auburn women’s basketball team opens the home season at Neville Arena, hosting Alabama State. Game time is 1 p.m. CT, and arena doors will open at noon.
Fans arriving early can pick up a commemorative “The Next Chapter” roll of toilet paper, honoring the first home game for head coach Larry Vickers.
Auburn (1-0) looks for its 24th consecutive win over Alabama State (0-1) in a series that dates back to 1976-77. Auburn picked up an overtime win over Charlotte Monday night in its season opener, and Alabama State fell on the road at Georgia.
Season tickets are still available, starting at $60. Single-game tickets are also available, either in advance or at the ticket office on gameday. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit AUBTix.com or call 855-282-2010.
PARKING INFO
›› The Neville Arena parking lot is a reserved permit-only lot for premium reserved season-ticket holders. This lot will only be accessible with a parking pass or an ADA hang tag. 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 12:45 p.m. CT. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics app.
›› The game can be seen on SEC Network + with Lyn Rollins and former Tiger Carsen McFadden calling the action. SECN+ is available with a cable or streaming subscription via the ESPN app or WatchESPN.com.
LAST TIME OUT
›› The Larry Vickers era started on a high note as Auburn used a 14-0 run in overtime to pull away from Charlotte for a 71-58 win Monday night in the women’s basketball opener for both teams.
›› Freshman Harissoum Coulibaly scored nine of her team-leading 19 points off the bench in the extra period as the Tigers used a smothering defense to force seven Charlotte turnovers in OT, turning those into nine points. Coulibaly was a big part of that defense with a team-best five steals.
›› On a tough shooting night, Auburn’s defense won the day as the Tigers forced 27 turnovers by the 49ers, turning those into 22 points. The Tigers also crashed the boards for 42 rebounds, 18 of those coming on the offensive glass.
›› Coulibaly and junior Ja’Mia Harris shared the team lead with 19 points, and Harris had eight rebounds, one shy of a career-high, along with three steals. Redshirt junior Kaitlyn Duhon added 14 points and six rebounds, and she matched a career-high with four assists.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Be Auburn’s 46th win in the last 47 home openers.
›› Be the first home win of the Larry Vickers era.
›› Give Auburn a 2-0 start for the fourth straight season.
›› Keep the Tigers unbeaten all-time against Alabama State.
AUBURN-ALABAMA STATE SERIES
›› This is the 24th all-time meeting with Alabama State in a series that dates back to the 1976-77 season. Auburn has won all 23 previous meetings, including a 15-0 mark at home.
LAST MEETING: Dec. 21, 2024
Auburn 83, Alabama State 40
›› Deyona Gaston scored 35 points, one shy of her career high, to lead Auburn over Alabama State 83-40 at Neville Arena, the Tigers’ fourth straight win.
›› Gaston exited midway through the fourth quarter after her free throw gave the Tigers a 50-point lead. The graduate student was 14 of 17 from the field and 7 of 10 from the free-throw line.
›› Celia Sumbane dazzled at both ends of the floor, filling the box score with 16 points, six rebounds, six assists, four steals and a blocked shot.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
›› Alabama State dropped their opener on the road at Georgia Monday night, 73-44. Charlese McClendon, a transfer from East Georgia State College, led ASU with 13 points in that game.
›› Last season, the Hornets finished 6-24 overall, 4-14 in SWAC play.
›› Kaitlyn Bryant was a preseason second-team All-SWAC selection. She averaged 8.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game last season.
›› Johnetta Hayes is in her first season as head coach as longtime ASU coach Freda Freeman-Jackson retired after 27 seasons.
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 scored 14 points in the opener at Charlotte and matched a career-high with four assists. She 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 scored four points with one steal at Charlotte Monday in the opener. She 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.
›› True freshman Harissoum Coulibaly made a splash in her college debut Nov. 3 at Charlotte, scoring a team-leading 19 points with nine of those coming in the pivotal overtime period. She came to the U.S. from Paris, France, and she played high school basketball at S3 Academy in Virginia.
›› Ja’Mia Harris shared the team lead with 19 points and led the Tigers with 8 rebounds in the win at Charlotte Nov. 3. 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.
›› Sophomore Khady Leye scored six points with four rebounds and three steals in the opener at Charlotte Nov. 3. 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.
›› Senior guard A’riel Jackson made her first Auburn start at Charlotte, scoring five points with three rebounds and two steals. 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.
›› Mya Petticord started and scored two points with three rebounds and a steal at Charlotte in the season-opener. Petticord, a senior guard, transferred from Rutgers, where she averaged 6.7 points per game last year and 10.2 per game as a sophomore.
›› 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.
›› 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.
›› 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.
›› 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.
MAKING A SPLASH ON NIGHT ONE
›› True freshman Harissoum Coulibaly made an immediate impact off the bench in her first collegiate game, sharing the team lead with 19 points and leading the Tigers with five steals in their OT win at Charlotte Nov. 3. She scored 18 of her 19 points after halftime with nine of those coming in the overtime period.
›› Coulibaly’s 19 points were the most by a freshman in her first Auburn appearance since Janiah McKay had 20 points vs. UAB on Nov. 13, 2015. Her five steals were the most by an Auburn freshman since Romi Levy had six vs. Georgia in 2021.
UP NEXT
›› It’s a quick turnaround as Auburn is back in action Monday night at home against UNC Greensboro for Military Appreciation Night. Game time is 6 p.m. CT at Neville Arena.