AUBURN, Ala. – The 50th season of Auburn women's basketball begins Wednesday night as the Tigers host USC Upstate at Auburn Arena. Game time is set for 6 p.m. CT.
A limited number of tickets are available by visiting AUBTix.com; all tickets are $6 and general admission in the 100 level of the arena. Ticketing for Auburn basketball will be digital for the 2020-21 season. All persons inside Auburn Arena will be required to wear a face covering at all times and maintain appropriate social distancing. Visit the Women's Basketball Gameday page at AuburnTigers.com for more information.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen begins his second season as the radio voice of Auburn women's basketball with the broadcast beginning at 5:45 p.m. CT on WTGZ 95.9 FM and online at AuburnTigers.com.
›› Wiley Ballard and Mimi Hill will call the action on SEC Network +, available via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app.
OPENING TIP
›› Auburn finished the 2019-20 season at 11-18 overall, 4-12 in SEC play. Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy begins her ninth season as Auburn's head coach.
›› USC Upstate finished 10-20 overall, 4-16 in Big South play in 2019-20. Becky Burke begins her first season as the Spartans' head coach.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Boost the Tigers' record in season openers to 41-9 overall, 28-3 when opening the season at home.
›› Be Auburn's 42nd straight win in a home opener.
›› Improve Coach Flo's record in season-openers at Auburn to 8-1 and her overall record in openers to 13-4.
SCOUTING USC UPSTATE
›› USC Upstate finished 10-20 overall, 4-16 in Big South Conference play in 2019-20. The Spartans finished 10th in the Big South last season.
›› The Spartans were picked to finish ninth in the Big South this season.
›› Junior center Barrett Herring, a Birmingham native, is USC Upstate's leading returner in scoring (7.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg). Senior Michaela Gibbons was the Spartans' top 3-point shooter a year ago, hitting 42-of-180 attempts.
›› Becky Burke will be making her Division I head coaching debut against Auburn. She was hired as USC Upstate's coach in June after a two-year stint as head coach at Division II University of Charleston (W.Va.).
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› With 10 newcomers and just five returning letterwinners (one returning starter), there will be plenty of new faces on the Auburn bench to begin the 2020-21 season.
›› Senior forward Unique Thompson, an honorable-mention All-American and first-team All-SEC performer a year ago, is Auburn's lone returning starter. She averaged a double-double for the second straight year with 16.2 points and 11.4 rebounds, leading Auburn in both categories. Thompson is also the nation's leading returner in double-doubles with 42.
›› Four other returners saw game action for Auburn last season: redshirt junior Kiyae' White and sophomores Annie Hughes, Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu and Sania Wells. White started 14 games, averaging 4.0 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 57.3% from the field. Hughes earned seven starts, shooting 45.2% from the field and scoring 3.6 points/game. Robinson-Nwagwu played in all 29 games (10.9 mins/game), averaging 1.3 points and 1.3 rebounds. And Wells appeared in 25 games with 1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds per game.
›› Two redshirt sophomore transfers that sat out last season are set to make an immediate impact. Honesty Scott-Grayson (Baylor) and Jala Jordan (West Virginia) both look to earn significant playing time.Scott-Grayson, a 2018 McDonald's All-American, played in 29 games at Baylor in 2018-29, shooting 49.0% from the floor. Jordan played in 27 games for WVU in 2018-19.
›› As a team, Auburn averaged 67.5 points/game last year while giving up 72.6. Auburn returns 39% of its scoring and 57% of its rebounding from last year.
ALL THE NEW FACES
›› Of the 15 players on the roster, 10 of them will be wearing an Auburn uniform for the first time in game action vs. USC Upstate.
›› 2019-20 transfers Jala Jordan and Honesty Scott-Grayson will be eligible for the first time Wednesday night. Jordan did play in two exhibition games for Auburn during the Tigers' Italy Tour in August of 2019.
›› Auburn added three junior college transfers during the offseason, including two NJCAA All-Americans. Keya Patton was a two-time All-American at Wabash Valley College (Ill.), where she scored over 1,000 points in two seasons and averaged 20.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.4 steals as a sophomore. Kira Lowery came to Auburn from Dyersburg State CC (Tenn.) where she ranked third in the nation in scoring (23.3 ppg) and second in steals (4.0/game) and was an NJCAA All-American in 2020. And Alycia Reese joins the Tigers from just down the road at Chattahoochee Valley CC in Phenix City, where she led the team with 12.8 points/game last season.
›› Sophomore Alaina Rice joined the Tigers in June after transferring from Florida A&M; she was granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA in early November. Rice was MEAC Rookie of the Year in 2020 at FAMU where she averaged 10.3 points and 4.7 rebounds.
›› The Tigers signed two freshmen during the offeseason: Romi Levy (6-2, F, Herzliya, Israel) and Aicha Coulibaly (6-0, F/G, Mali). Two others joined Auburn as walk-ons: Riley Donahue (5-10, G, Atlanta, Ga.) and Carsen McFadden (5-7, G, Fairview, Texas).
AUBURN IN SEASON OPENERS
›› In 49 previous seasons, Auburn has put together a 40-9 record in season openers (home or away) and sports a 28-3 record when opening the season at home.
›› In the SEC era (since 1980), Auburn is 36-4 in season openers.
›› The Tigers are winners of their last 28 season openers at home with the last time Auburn lost being a 71-56 loss to Talladega in the 1977-78 opener. Auburn has also won their first home game of the season 41 straight years.
›› Head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy is 7-1 in season-openers at Auburn. She holds a 12-4 record in season-openers as a head coach, winning 10 of her last 11.
AUBURN-USC UPSTATE SERIES
›› This is the second meeting between Auburn and USC Upstate in women's basketball. The teams previously met in 2011 at Auburn Arena with the Tigers claiming a 75-34 win.
LAST MEETING: Nov. 27, 2011
Auburn 75, USC Upstate 34
›› Four Auburn players scored in double figures, led by 14 points from Blanche Alverson, as the Tigers defeated USC Upstate 75-34 at Auburn Arena.
›› Despite shooting just 42.3 percent from the floor, Auburn utilized its defense to earn create 24 points off of 22 turnovers from USC-Upstate, including eight steals from the Tigers. Auburn also out-rebounded the Spartans 51-31.
›› Following Alverson was senior Chantel Hilliard and freshman Hasina Muhammad with 12 points each. Morgan Jennings added 10 points while fellow senior Parrisha Simmons led the squad with 10 rebounds.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn hosts in-state rival Samford at noon CT Saturday, Nov. 28. The game will be broadcast by SEC Network +.
Auburn women host USC Upstate to open 2020-21 season
