AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team hits the road for the final time in the 2022-23 regular season Thursday when they take on the Georgia Lady Bulldogs in Athens, Georgia. Game time is 6 p.m. CT at Stegeman Coliseum.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen will have the radio call on WQSI 93.9 FM beginning at 5:45 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 Matt Stewart and Anne Marie Armstrong on the call.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson led four Tigers in double-figures, but a game of runs went Tennessee's way as the Lady Vols held on for an 83-76 win Sunday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena.
›› Neither team ever led by double digits, and the lead changed hands six times, but a game of runs saw the Lady Vols answer every Auburn scoring spurt with one of their own. And a hot-shooting second half for Tennessee was too much for Auburn to overcome.
›› Scott-Grayson had her best outing in SEC play this year, scoring 23 points and sharing the team lead with five rebounds. Aicha Coulibaly added 15 points, and Romi Levy and Sania Wells scored 10 apiece. Wells recorded a season-high six assists as she got the start at point guard.
›› Tennessee shot 56 percent for the game and 67 percent for the second half. The Lady Vols also took advantage of a significant free-throw edge, hitting 22-of-32 while Auburn made 14-of-19. The Tigers shot 44 percent from the field and knocked down six 3-pointers, their best output in SEC play.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Secure Auburn's first winning record in the regular-season since the 2018-19 season.
›› Be Auburn's fifth SEC win of the year.
›› Give Auburn back-to-back wins over Georgia for the first time since winning three straight from 2009-11.
›› Snap a four-game losing streak in Athens.
›› Likely secure a first-round bye in next week's SEC Tournament.
ROAD TO GREENVILLE
›› Auburn is currently 10th in the SEC standings at 4-10, and would avoid the first day of the tournament if the season ended today. The Tigers own tiebreakers over three of the four teams below them in the standings (Florida, Kentucky, Texas A&M).
›› An Auburn win and a Vanderbilt loss over the last two games would secure the 10-seed for the Tigers. Auburn would also win a possible 3-way tiebreaker with Vanderbilt and Florida at 4-12. Auburn faces Vanderbilt in the season finale on Sunday at home.
AUBURN-GEORGIA SERIES
›› This is the 54th meeting between Auburn and Georgia. The Lady Bulldogs lead the series 33-20, including a 20-5 edge in Athens. Auburn's last win in Athens came in 2015 by a score of 44-26.
LAST MEETING: Feb. 20, 2022, at Auburn
Auburn 65, #20 Georgia 60
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson matched a season-high with 23 points, and Auburn's defense came up huge in the fourth quarter as the Tigers fought back for a 65-60 win over No. 21 Georgia at Auburn Arena.
›› The Tigers rallied from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter as they held Georgia scoreless for the final 7:16 of the game, picking up their third top-25 win of the year.
›› Scott-Grayson's 23 points led all scorers; she also had four rebounds, five steals and three assists. Aicha Coulibaly added 19 points with a game-high eight rebounds. Sania Wells had eight points, a team-leading four assists and three steals, and Jala Jordan added eight points and seven rebounds off the bench.
›› Auburn shot 40.7 percent from the floor (22-54) but knocked down 6-of-15 3-pointers (40%). Georgia took advantage of its size for 36 paint points to Auburn's 26, and the Bulldogs were 15-of-18 at the free-throw line. The Tigers also forced Georgia into 21 turnovers, converting those into 17 points.
SCOUTING THE LADY BULLDOGS
›› Georgia is 19-9 overall and 8-6 in the SEC. They have won four straight, including a 71-48 win over Arkansas Sunday.
›› The Lady Bulldogs average 67.4 points per game and hold opponents to 57.4. Georgia leads the SEC in steals (10.9/game) and turnover margin (+4.2).
›› Diamond Battles leads Georgia with 14.0 points/game to rank 15th in the SEC.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 14-12 overall, 4-10 in SEC play. The Tigers came up just short on the road at Tennessee Sunday in an 83-76 loss.
›› Junior Aicha Coulibaly leads Auburn in scoring (16.4 ppg), rebounding (6.5 rpg) and steals (2.2 spg); she is 7th in the SEC in scoring and 3rd in steals. She has four double-doubles this season, her last coming last Sunday at Alabama (13 points, 10 rebounds). In Auburn's four SEC wins, Coulibaly is averaging 20.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals, along with shooting 51.6% from the floor. Coulibaly has missed three SEC games with injuries.
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson averages 13.0 points to rank second on the team. She led Auburn in scoring in seven of the last eight games in non-conference play, topping the 20-point mark four times including a career-high 31 against North Carolina A&T. She is also the Tigers' top 3-point shooter, hitting 39.5% from long range (34-86). She missed the first three games of SEC play with minor injuries but returned to the bench vs. Alabama and to the starting lineup at LSU. Her best game in SEC play came Sunday at Tennessee with a 23-point performance.
›› Redshirt sophomore Romi Levy recorded double-doubles against both Alabama State and Little Rock. Against Little Rock, she had career-highs in points (18) and rebounds (13) for her second career double-double.
›› Sophomore Mar'Shaun Bostic has been a defensive spark off the bench, averaging 1.3 steals in SEC play. She scored a career-high 11 points in the win over Ole Miss.
›› Senior Sania Wells has had five big games in SEC play, scoring a season-high 16 points in the win at Kentucky along with 13 against South Carolina, Alabama and Texas A&M. She was the SEC's leading free-throw shooter last year at 90.5% (76-84) and is currently 3rd all-time at Auburn in career free-throw percentage (79.5%). She averages 7.6 points off the bench and is Auburn's third-leading scorer in SEC play.
›› Freshman point guard Sydney Shaw leads the Tigers with 2.3 assists/game despite moving to the 2-guard spot once league play began. She scored a career-high 15 points and matched a season-best with 6 assists in the win over Louisiana-Lafayette, and she scored at least 14 points in 3 of the last 4 non-conference games. She matched that career-high with 15 points against South Carolina on Feb. 9. Shaw is Auburn's third-leading scorer with 7.3 points/game.
›› Auburn's newcomers have all made an immediate impact with three freshmen - Kaitlyn Duhon, Shaw and Kharyssa Richardson - starting each of the first six games. Duhon scored 17 points in the win over South Alabama. Richardson had a career night with 15 points and 16 rebounds in a win over Florida. Junior Jakayla Johnson has earned 14 starts, scoring 8+ points in four of those and posting a career-high 6 assists at Kentucky.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn closes out the regular season Sunday, Feb. 26, at home against Vanderbilt. Game time is set for 3 p.m. CT at Neville Arena.
›› Sunday's game is Senior Day as seniors Sania Wells and Honesty Scott-Grayson will be recognized prior to the game. The Senior Day ceremony will begin at approximately 2:35 p.m.
Final road game for Auburn women at Georgia Thursday
