AUBURN, Ala. – Southeastern Conference play for Auburn women's basketball gets underway Thursday night in Nashville as the Tigers travel to Vanderbilt for a 7:30 p.m. tip at Memorial Gym.
The Tigers (6-5) enter league play having won two straight, a pair of home victories over Bethune-Cookman and Jacksonville State to close out the non-conference slate. In the win over JSU last Saturday, senior Daisa Alexander scored her 1,000th career point and junior Unique Thompson recorded her 12th straight double-double to extend her nation-leading streak.
Vanderbilt (10-3) went undefeated in December and carries a five-game win streak into the SEC lidlifter. Auburn will be seeking its seventh straight win over Vanderbilt, dating back to 2014. This most recent streak comes after the Commodores had won 21 straight from 2001-13.
Last season, Auburn completed one of the biggest comebacks in program history when the Tigers rallied from a 20-point third-quarter deficit to earn a 72-70 win in Nashville. Robyn Benton hit the game-winning jumper and free throw with less than 10 seconds left.
Brit Bowen will call the action courtside at Memorial Gym on WTGZ 93.9 FM in Auburn and online at AuburnTigers.com and the official Auburn Tigers app. SEC Network will carry whiparound coverage of all seven league games Thursday; the game can be seen in its entirety on SEC Network +, available through WatchESPN or the ESPN app.
QUICK HITS
• This is the 51st meeting between Auburn and Vanderbilt in women's basketball
• Vanderbilt owns a 28-22 advantage in the series that dates back to 1977-78, but Auburn has won the last six meetings
• Auburn rallied from a 20-point third-quarter deficit to win 72-70 in Nashville last season
• Auburn is 19-21 all-time in SEC openers and has won four of its last five
• The Tigers went 6-2 on the road in SEC play last season, a school record for road wins in league play
• Unique Thompson has 11 double-doubles in 11 games this year, which leads the NCAA; she has 31 career double-doubles, which ranks 3rd in Auburn history
• Thompson is the only player in NCAA Division I with a double-double in every game her team has played this year
• Going back to the final game of 2018-19, Thompson has double-doubles in 12 straight games, the second-longest streak in program history (Lauretta Freeman, 18 in 1992-93)
• Thompson has been named SEC Player of the Week twice this season, including most recently on Dec. 30
• Thompson's 691 career rebounds rank 2nd among active SEC players and 15th in Auburn history
• Senior Daisa Alexander scored her 1,000th career point in Auburn's win over Jacksonville State (12/28); she is the 34th Tiger to reach that milestone
• Alexander is 8th in the SEC in scoring (14.5 ppg) and fifth in steals (2.5/game) (as of Dec. 30)
• Alexander's 190 career steals rank second among active SEC players; her 1,002 points are 7th among active players
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Give Auburn its third straight win, its longest streak of the season.
›› Be Auburn's sixth win in its last seven SEC openers.
›› Be Auburn's seventh straight win over Vanderbilt, its longest active streak against an SEC opponent.
AUBURN-VANDERBILT SERIES
›› This is the 51st meeting between Auburn and Vanderbilt in women's basketball.
›› Vanderbilt owns a 28-22 edge in the series that dates back to 1977-78, but Auburn has won the last six meetings, including three straight at Memorial Gym. Prior to Auburn's win in Nashville in 2014, the Commodores had won 21 in a row dating back to 2001.
LAST MEETING: Jan. 17, 2019
Auburn 72, Vanderbilt 70
›› Auburn completed one of the biggest comebacks in school history, rallying from a 20-point third-quarter deficit to earn a 72-70 win over Vanderbilt at Memorial Gym.
›› Freshman Robyn Benton hit a jumper in the paint and drew a foul with 8.6 seconds to play to give Auburn the lead for just the second time in the game at 71-70. She sank the free throw to push the lead to two points, and Vandy's baseline jumper at the buzzer fell short.
›› Janiah McKay led the Tigers with 19 points and six assists. Unique Thompson picked up her eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Daisa Alexander overcame a slow start to post a 14-point night; 12 of those came in the second half.
›› The Tigers overcame Vanderbilt shooting 61.0 percent from the floor, including a 69.2-percent clip on 3-pointers. The Commodores had made six total 3-pointers in SEC play before knocking down nine tonight; eight of those came from Cierra Walker, who scored a game-high 25 points.
SCOUTING VANDERBILT
›› Vanderbilt wrapped up non-conference play at 10-3; the Commodores have already posted three more victories than all of last season.
›› The Commodores average 73.5 points per game while giving up 59.7; Vandy pulls down 44.9 rebounds per game and averages 10.3 steals.
›› Mariella Fasoula leads Vandy in scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg), ranking sixth and seventh in the SEC, respectively. Chelsie Hall is fourth in the SEC with 4.5 assists per game.
›› Former Vanderbilt standout Marqu'es Webb, currently the Commodores' director of player development, is the sister of Auburn director of basketball operations Bianca Webb.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Junior forward Unique Thompson has 11 double-doubles through 11 games, averaging 18.9 points and 12.3 rebounds; she is the leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer in the Southeastern Conference. She has 31 career double-doubles, which ranks 3rd in Auburn history and second among active SEC players.
›› Senior guard Daisa Alexander is the Tigers' second-leading scorer, averaging 14.5 points/game. She scored her 1,000th career point against Jacksonville State on Dec. 28, becoming the 34th Tiger to reach that milestone. Alexander also ranks fifth in the SEC in steals (2.5/game).
›› Sophomore Brooke Moore, redshirt sophomore Kiyae' White and freshman Annie Hughes all earned their first collegiate starts vs. Wofford in the season opener. Moore scored 15 points in each of the first two games, Hughes hit double-digits in the first two games, and White scored a career-high 12 in the win over St. Joseph's.
›› Freshman Lauren Hansen earned her first career start at UAB on Nov. 21 in her second collegiate game. Hansen followed that up with an 18-point, 4-steal performance in a win over St. Joseph's, then a 24-point, 4-assist day against Drake where she made seven 3-pointers.
›› Sophomore Robyn Benton made her season debut vs. Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 15, scoring 10 points along with two blocks. She missed the season's first nine games with injury.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn begins its home SEC slate as No. 20 Arkansas visits Auburn Arena on Sunday, Jan. 5. Game time is 1 p.m. CT with the broadcast on SEC Network.