AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn women's basketball looks to build on a five-game winning streak Saturday when they continue their December homestand with a visit from Norfolk State. Game time is 2 p.m. CT at Neville Arena.
The Tigers (8-2) are coming off a record-setting 94-37 win over Alabama State Wednesday night that saw Auburn record a school-record 28 steals while forcing ASU into 40 turnovers. Norfolk State (7-3) dropped a tough contest at Wake Forest on Sunday in their last outing.
Doors for Saturday's game will open an hour early at noon CT. Saturday's game is the annual Teddy Bear Toss and Toys for Tots game. Fans are encouraged to bring both a new, unwrapped toy to donate to support the kids of Lee County and the AU Veterans Resource Center, and also a teddy bear or stuffed animal to toss onto the court at halftime.
Saturday will also feature a visit from Aubie Claus to Neville Arena. This event is for premium Aubie's Kids Club members only from noon to 1:30 p.m. Fans arriving early for Aubie Claus should enter the arena through the north main entrance next to the AU Team Shop and check in at the Aubie's Kids Club table.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara will have the radio call on AU100 (100.3 FM) beginning at 1:45 p.m. CT. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics app.
›› Saturday's game can be seen on SEC Network + with Graham Doty and Hall-of-Fame coach Joe Ciampi on the call. SEC Network + is available via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Auburn played relentless defense, set the program record with 28 steals and scored 28 straight points to run away early from Alabama State, defeating the Hornets 94-37 Wednesday at Neville Arena for the Tigers' fifth straight win.
›› Honesty Scott-Grayson led the Tigers with a season-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Taylen Collins scored 17 points, also a season high. Celia Sumbane scored 11 points and led Auburn with seven rebounds and five steals, and McKenna Eddings added 10 points.
›› Auburn forced 40 turnovers – tied for the second-most in program history – leading to 53 points. Collins and Kaitlyn Duhon each added four steals. Carsen McFadden made the first of her two steals midway through the fourth quarter to help Auburn break the previous program record of 25. Twelve of the 15 Tigers who played recorded a steal.
›› The Tigers then held ASU scoreless for the next 10 minutes and 27 seconds while pouring in 28 unanswered points, many in transition after steals. The Tigers outscored Alabama State 30-2 in fast-break points.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Improve the Tigers' record to 9-2.
›› Give Auburn a six-game winning streak.
›› Keep the Tigers unbeaten in December non-conference games under Harris (13-0).
AUBURN-NORFOLK STATE SERIES
›› This is the first meeting between Auburn and Norfolk State in women's basketball.
›› Auburn is 5-0 against current members of the MEAC, having previously faced Coppin State, Maryland-Eastern Shore and Morgan State.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
›› Norfolk State is 7-3 on the season, including a 5-2 mark on the road. The Spartans' only two road losses have come at the hands of Power 5 opponents Minnesota and Wake Forest. The Spartans are ranked No. 21 in the Mid-Major Top 25.
›› NSU averages 57.1 points per game and allows just 55.6. The Spartans rank 49th nationally in scoring defense and play defense much like Auburn, forcing turnovers (18.6/game) and steals (10.4/game) while also taking care of the ball (14.3 turnovers/game; 67th nationally).
›› Kierra Wheeler leads NSU with 16.3 points/game; she has been named MEAC Player of the Week the last two weeks.
›› NSU won the MEAC last season and was picked to win it again this season.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 8-2 after a record-setting home victory over Alabama State Wednesday night.
›› The Tigers have three road wins this season, the most since winning 10 times on the road in 2018-19.
›› Graduate student Honesty Scott-Grayson scored a season-high 24 points against Alabama State and had 22 in the win at UAB Dec. 3. She also had 18 points, 5 assists and 5 steals against Clemson. She leads the team with 16.1 points/game and also averages 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
›› JaMya Mingo-Young made her first Auburn start at Little Rock, scoring 11 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. She came back in her next start against Alabama State with a season-best 6 assists. In her Auburn debut vs. Cal, she had a team-leading 5 assists after missing the first three games with injury, then racked up 7 points and 4 assists at UCF. She then scored a season-high 16 points against Clemson, hitting 9-of-11 free throw attempts. Mingo-Young leads Auburn with 4.0 assists/game in the seven games she has played, and she is fifth on the team with 7.1 points/game. She would lead the SEC in assist/turnover ratio (4.0) if she had met playing minimums.
›› Sophomore Sydney Shaw scored a career-high 17 points at UCF and has hit double-figures in five of eight games. Shaw also led the Tigers with 15 points in the Alabama A&M win and scored 11 against Clemson. She is second on the team with 9.1 points/game and leads the outside attack with 15 3-pointers. Possibly the Tigers' best pure shooter, she moves from playing significant minutes at point guard last year to mostly at the 2-guard spot this season, although she has run the point at times this year.
›› Senior Taylen Collins scored a season-best 17 points in the win over Alabama State. Collins had a huge second half to spark the comeback win over UL-Lafayette on Nov. 9 with all nine of her points and 8 of 14 rebounds coming after halftime. She recorded her first Auburn double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds vs. Alabama A&M. She averages 8.5 points and a team-leading 7.0 rebounds. Collins, a transfer from Oklahoma State, was fourth in the Big 12 in rebounding last year with 9.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
›› Junior Mar'Shaun Bostic had a huge game in the opener with 12 points, 4 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds. She then had another huge game agains Clemson with 7 points, 4 assists and a career-high 5 steals, then matched a season-high with 12 points at UAB. She was a breakout star in the Tigers' final game of the season last year, scoring a career-high 23 points in the WNIT second round matchup at Clemson. Bostic, one of the fastest players in the SEC, looks to play significant minutes at point guard and can be one of the SEC's top defenders.
›› Sophomore Kaitlyn Duhon started the season off with a bang, scoring 13 points along with 3 rebounds and 2 steals in the opener vs. JSU. She showed off her speed against Clemson, especially late in the first half, as she scored 10 points with 3 rebounds and 3 steals. She swiped a career-high 5 steals in just 10 minutes of action vs. Alabama State.
›› Celia Sumbane and McKenna Eddings, both JUCO All-Americans last season, have played significant minutes in the first several games. Both were huge in the win over Alabama State - Sumbane finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists, all career-highs. Eddings scored 10 points along with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Eddings made her first Division I start vs. California, and Sumbane has started the last five games.
›› Freshman Savannah Scott made a splash under the basket through the early part of the season, averaging 7.6 points and 4.9 rebounds. She led the Tigers with 16 points in the win over ULL, then posted her first career double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds in the win at Rutgers. At 6-4, she adds much-needed size in the post, as do fellow freshmen Timya Thurman (6-5) and Yakiya Milton (6-4) along with sophomore Oyindamola Akinbolawa (6-5).
DEFENSE CREATING OFFENSE
›› Auburn forced Alabama State into 40 turnovers in a 94-37 win on Dec. 13 at home. It tied for the second-most turnovers forced by Auburn in program history and was the most against a Division I opponent.
›› The Tigers scored 53 points off those 40 turnovers, the most since at least 2005-06 when record on that statistic are available.
›› Under Harris, the Tigers have forced 25 or more turnovers seven times and 30 or more on four occasions.
›› Auburn is 33-0 all-time when forcing 30 or more turnovers in a game.
›› The Tigers have forced 20 or more turnovers in 5 games this year; Auburn is 4-1 in those games.
GRINCH MODE
›› Auburn embraced the Christmas spirit - the Grinch's one of stealing, that is - in their win over Alabama State when they set a new program record with 28 steals in a 94-37 win.
›› The previous Auburn record was 24 steals, tied most recently last season when the Tigers accomplished the feat against Samford on Dec. 19.
›› Through games of Dec. 14, Auburn is one of 10 teams nationally to record at least 25 steals in a game and just the second to do it against another Division I team. It's just the fifth time in the last five years for a Division I team to record 25 or more steals against a DI opponent.
›› The last SEC team to record at least at least 28 steals in a game, interestingly enough, was the 2013-14 Mississippi State Bulldogs - with then-assistant coach Johnnie Harris in her second year in Starkville. That team recorded 30 steals in a win over New Orleans. In that game, MSU was led with 7 steals by current Auburn assistant coach Savannah Carter, who filled the stat sheet with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn plays its final game before the holiday break as Washington State visits Neville Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 20. Game time is 2 p.m. CT.
Auburn women's hoops welcomes Norfolk State Saturday
