AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn women's basketball is back inside the friendly confines of Neville Arena for a Sunday afternoon showdown with No. 7/4 LSU. Game time is set for 2 p.m. CT.
Auburn is looking to get back on the winning track after a furious fourth-quarter comeback bid came up just short in a 58-55 loss at Ole Miss Thursday night. LSU has won 16 straight headed into Sunday's contest; they defeated Texas A&M 87-70 at home Thursday.
A near-record crowd is expected for Sunday's game; fans should plan to arrive early and allow plenty of time for arena entry. Arena doors open at 1 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to park in the Campus Safety lot as this is the closest parking to the main arena entrance. Additional parking is available in the Arena lot, Coliseum lot, Stadium deck and Athletic Complex deck.
Tickets are still available in advance by visiting AUBTix.com, and general admission seating can also be purchased at the Neville Arena ticket office on gameday.
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.
›› Sunday's game can be seen on ESPN with Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck calling the action. This will be Auburn's first women's basketball game on the main ESPN network since March 23, 2004, when Auburn faced UConn in the NCAA Tournament second round.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Auburn fought back from an 18-point deficit to get within one point in the final minute but could not complete the comeback in a 58-55 loss at Ole Miss Thursday night.
›› A bucket-and-one from Honesty Scott-Grayson with 1:01 to play got the Tigers within one point at 54-53, and twice in the final minute the Tigers had the ball in the frontcourt with a chance to tie or take the lead. Scott-Grayson was fouled both times, making one shot each time to keep the deficit at one.
›› A pair of Rebel free throws with 12 seconds to play pushed the lead back to three, and the Tigers had an open look at a 3-pointer in the final seconds but could not connect.
›› Scott-Grayson shook off early foul trouble to score a game-high 16 points; she was Auburn's only player in double figures. JaMya Mingo-Young and Celia Sumbane had nine points each, and Oyindamola Akinbolawa led the Tigers with six rebounds.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Snap a three-game skid against LSU.
›› Be Auburn's fourth top-25 victory under Johnnie Harris (Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Georgia in 2021-22).
›› Be Auburn's second top-10 win under Harris (#4 Tennessee, 2022).
AUBURN-LSU SERIES
›› This is the 60th meeting between Auburn and LSU in women's basketball. Auburn leads the all-time series 34-25, including a 16-10 advantage at home. Auburn had won five out of six before LSU won the last three meetings.
LAST MEETING: Jan. 15, 2023, at Baton Rouge
#5 LSU 84, Auburn 54
›› Auburn's Precious Johnson scored a season-high 13 points, but No. 5 LSU was too much as Auburn fell 84-54 Sunday afternoon on the road.
›› Auburn struggled from the field early and, despite a late third-quarter run, could not catch up to the nation's top-scoring team as LSU showcased its size and speed in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
›› Sydney Shaw and Sania Wells just missed double-digits with nine points apiece, and Honesty Scott-Grayson scored seven points and pulled down a team-best seven rebounds in her return to the starting lineup.
›› LSU, the nation's leader in rebounding margin, only had seven more boards than Auburn at 45-38. Auburn also turned 15 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points. But LSU shot 47.8 percent while Auburn came in at 36.5 percent. Auburn also had a tough day at the free-throw line, going 6-for-16.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING TIGERS
›› LSU is 16-1 overall and 3-0 in SEC play. The defending national champions dropped their first game of the year to Colorado but have won 16 in a row since.
›› LSU has the nation's top scoring offense, averaging 93.8 points per game. They have been held under 80 points just three times in 17 games.
›› Angel Reese leads six Tigers in double figures at 19.8 points per game. Aneesah Morrow adds 18.6, and Mikaylah Williams averages 16.9. Reese is LSU's top rebounder at 11.5 per game.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 11-5 overall, 0-3 in SEC play. The Tigers are back home for four of the next five games after two straight SEC road games at Texas A&M and Ole Miss.
›› The Tigers have three road wins this season, the most since winning 10 times on the road in 2018-19.
›› Auburn has recorded three non-conference wins over Power 5 opponents (Rutgers, Clemson, Washington State), the most in a single-season since 2008-09.
›› 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 15.5 points/game and also averages 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists. She averages 15.7 points/game in SEC play.
›› JaMya Mingo-Young leads Auburn with 4.0 assists/game, and she is second on the team with 9.2 points/game. She is fourth in the SEC and 25th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (2.6). She is also third in the league in free-throw percentage (87.0%) and made 29 consecutive free throws from the UAB game Dec. 3 until finally missing at Texas A&M Jan. 7. Mingo-Young scored a season-high 16 points against Clemson, hitting 9-of-11 free throw attempts, then matched her scoring output with 16 against Norfolk State and tied an Auburn record going 12-for-12 at the free-throw line. She has flirted with a triple-double two straight games with 13 points/10 rebounds/7 assists vs. North Alabama (12/31) and 12/7/7 vs. Washington State (12/20).
›› 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 8.3 points and a team-leading 6.3 rebounds.
›› Junior Mar'Shaun Bostic scored a season-high 17 points on 7-11 shooting vs. Tennessee. She had a huge game in the opener vs. Jacksonville State 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. 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, plays significant minutes at point guard and can be one of the SEC's top defenders.
›› Sophomore Sydney Shaw scored a career-high 17 points at UCF and has hit double-figures in six games. Shaw also led the Tigers with 15 points in the Alabama A&M win and scored 11 against Clemson. She is fourth on the team with 7.1 points/game and leads the outside attack with 19 3-pointers.
›› 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, and she earned her first start of the season at Ole Miss.
›› 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 scored a career-high 14 points and was 4-of-5 from 3-point range vs. North Alabama. Eddings made her first Division I start vs. California, and Sumbane has started 10 games.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn hits the road for the third time in SEC play, traveling to the Music City for a Thursday night showdown with Vanderbilt. Game time is 6:30 p.m. CT at Memorial Gym in Nashville.
Auburn women back home to face No. 7/4 LSU
