AUBURN, Ala.— It’s the fourth straight top-25 matchup for Auburn women’s basketball Thursday night as the Tigers host No. 3 South Carolina at Neville Arena.
Game time is 8 p.m. CT; arena doors will open at 7 p.m.
Thursday’s game is Jersey Night; fans are encouraged to wear their favorite sports jersey and can enter to win a Nike basketball jersey.
The Tigers (13-8, 2-5 SEC) are in the midst of a stretch of five straight games against ranked opponents, having faced No. 21 Alabama, No. 5 Vanderbilt and No. 16 Oklahoma in their last three games. They’ll take on No. 17 Ole Miss Monday night in Oxford, a game that was pushed back a day due to the impacts of winter weather in north Mississippi.
South Carolina (20-2, 6-1) fell for the first time in SEC play last Thursday at Oklahoma but bounced back in a big way with a 103-74 win over No. 5 Vanderbilt at home Sunday.
Tickets are available in advance by visiting AUBTix.com or via the Auburn Athletics app. They can also be purchased at the arena ticket office on gameday.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara will have the radio call on ESPN 106.7 FM beginning at 7:45 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 Sam Gore and Carolyn Peck calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
›› A’riel Jackson scored a career-high 19 points and Auburn overcame a 10-point second half deficit before falling to No. 16 Oklahoma 72-65 Sunday at Neville Arena.
›› Harris and Mya Petticord each scored 12 points for the Tigers. Harissoum Coulibaly added 10 points and zero turnovers in 23 minutes.
›› The game was tied 59-59 with less than 5 minutes to play, and Auburn had a chance to take the lead on its next possession but could not convert. From there, Oklahoma went on a 6-0 run and held Auburn scoreless for nearly four minutes to seal the win.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Give the Tigers a second top-25 win this season.
›› Improve Auburn to 10-3 at home this season.
›› Snap a 16-game skid against South Carolina.
AUBURN-SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES
›› Auburn is 21-31 in the 52 previous meetings with South Carolina. The Gamecocks have won 16 straight in the series, dating back to 2013.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 2, 2025, in Columbia
#2 South Carolina 83, Auburn 66
›› Auburn’s DeYona Gaston topped the 30-point mark for the fourth time this season, but the Tigers came up short in a hard-fought battle with No. 2 South Carolina, falling 83-66 in Columbia.
›› Gaston led four players in double-figures as Celia Sumbane knocked down three 3-pointers to finish with 11 points, Yuting Deng had 10 points in her first road game, and Mar’Shaun Bostic just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine assists.
›› Auburn had its best shooting day in SEC play at exactly 50 percent (25-of-50) and hit 5-of-11 3-point tries (45.5%). But the Gamecocks bested that, hitting 57.1 percent of their shots (32-56). Turnovers and bench play proved to be the difference. Auburn turned the ball over 23 times, leading to 25 Carolina points, and the Gamecock bench scored 39 points. Carolina also scored 26 fast-break points, the most by an Auburn opponent this season.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
›› South Carolina is 20-2 overall, 6-1 in SEC play. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 3 in both polls and are No. 4 in the latest NCAA NET rankings.
›› The Gamecocks have the nation’s fourth-leading scoring offense, averaging 89.0 points per game. They’ll be the third straight top-10 scoring opponent Auburn has faced (#3 Oklahoma, #10 Vanderbilt).
›› Carolina is also ranked in national top 10 in field goal percentage (4th - 51.1%), blocks per game (4th - 6.4), 3-point percentage (9th, 37.4%), and field goal percentage defense (7th - 33.9%).
›› Joyce Edwards leads five Gamecocks in double figures with 20.0 points per game, 3rd-best in the SEC. Raven Johnson is one of the nation’s top point guards with 5.2 assists per game and a 3.71 assist-to-turnover ratio, fourth-best nationally.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 13-8 on the year, 2-5 in SEC play. The Tigers have a pair of SEC wins over Florida and Alabama and are in the midst of a stretch where they play five straight top-25 opponents.
›› True freshman Harissoum Coulibaly averages a team-best 11.1 points per game; she has moved into the starting lineup for the bulk of SEC play, where she is scoring 11.3 points per game. She was named SEC Freshman of the Week Dec. 23 after averaging 15.0 points in the two wins over MTSU and Alcorn. She also shoots a team-best 50.8% from the field. She led Auburn with 19 points, matching a season-best, in the win over Georgia State Nov. 17. She 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 added 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists vs. MVSU.
›› Redshirt junior Kaitlyn Duhon averages 9.8 points per game. One of the top defenders in the SEC, she also leads the Tigers with 3.3 steals per game, which ranks fourth in the SEC and 15th nationally. She shared the team lead with 14 points in the win over Florida Jan. 11. Duhon scored a career-high 20 points and was 5-of-5 from 3-point range at Seton Hall Dec. 14. She also had a career-best 7 steals in the win over Cal on Nov. 26, then had 15 points and six steals at Syracuse Dec. 3. She matched her career-high in steals with 7 at Mississippi State on Jan. 1.
›› Sophomore Khady Leye has been steady, averaging 8.9 points and a team-best 5.1 rebounds. Her 16-point, 9-rebound performance led the Tigers to a win over No. 21 Alabama Jan. 15. She scored a career-high 20 points in the win over MVSU, then she recorded her first Auburn double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds vs. Georgia State. She added a team-leading 14 points in the win over Rutgers Nov. 20 and matched that 14-point total against Tennessee Jan. 4.
›› Mya Petticord, a senior transfer from Rutgers, matched a season high with 21 points, hitting 4-of-5 3s to lead Auburn in the win over Jackson State. She hit the game-winning shot against her former team, hitting a driving layup with 10 seconds left to clinch the Tigers’ win Nov. 20. She had her best game in two years with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting (3-4 3FG) in the win over Alabama State. She followed that up with a team-leading 18 points (4-7 3FG) in the win over UNCG.
›› Ja’Mia Harris scored in double figures in three of the first four games. Most recently, she flirted with a double-double, scoring 8 points with a career-high 9 rebounds in the win over Florida Jan. 11. She shared the team lead with 19 points and led the Tigers with 8 rebounds in the win at Charlotte Nov. 3, then scored 16 with four 3-pointers in the win over Alabama State. She followed that up with a pair of 3-pointers on an 11-point night - along with 7 rebounds - vs. UNCG, and she had 17 points and 7 rebounds at Seton Hall.
›› Senior guard A’riel Jackson matched a career-high with 19 points and 5 assists vs. Oklahoma, knocking down three 3-pointers for the third time this season. Along with a 10-point night at Vanderbilt, she’s averaging 14.5 points in the last two contests off the bench. She scored a season-high 17 points, going 7-11 from the field and 3-3 from 3-point range to lead the Tigers in their win over Cal Nov. 26. Two days earlier, she scored a season-high 12 points in the win over UTSA. Jackson knocked down three first-half treys, scoring 9 points with a team-best 4 assists vs. UNCG. She then had 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists against Alabama State.
›› Sophomore Syriah Daniels dazzled in her first start of the season at MTSU, setting or matching career-highs with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks in the win. She also scored 10 points with four rebounds and two steals vs. MVSU. Daniels helped seal the win over No. 21 Alabama in the final seconds, taking a charge to give Auburn the ball back with a two-point lead.
›› Freshman Sania Richardson had the best game of her young career with 12 points in the win over Jackson State. She averages 3.8 points off the bench and is becoming one of Auburn’s top 3-point threats.
›› 6-9 redshirt freshmen Arek Angui notched her first career double-double with career-highs 11 points and 11 rebounds vs. Mississippi Valley State. She made her first appearance for Auburn against Alabama State Nov. 8 and pulled down a team-leading 8 rebounds along with 3 points. Originally from South Sudan, she played one season of high school basketball at Greenforest Academy in Georgia.
›› Senior guard Angena Belloso transferred from FIU where she played in 57 games the last 2 years. She scored a season-high 10 points, all in the second quarter, in Auburn’s game with Oregon Nov. 30.
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE
›› 20 of 21 opponents on Auburn’s schedule have been held below their season scoring average, and three have been held to their season-low against the Tigers, including two SEC opponents.
›› The Tigers are holding opponents an average of 10.1 points below their season average, and SEC opponents are averaging 9.3 points below their average against Auburn.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn hits the road for two games next week, beginning with a trip to Oxford, Mississippi, to take on Ole Miss. That game will be played Monday, Feb. 2, at 6 p.m.; it was originally scheduled for Sunday but moved because of weather issues in Oxford.
›› The Tigers' next home game is Sunday, Feb. 8, against No. 6 LSU. Game time is 1 p.m. CT.