The Auburn women's basketball team will face archrival Alabama Thursday at 7 p.m.
Alabama (13-12, 2-10 SEC) began the season with an 11-2 record, but lost nine consecutive games before its first conference win versus the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs earlier this month.
The Crimson Tide's losing streak was entirely to conference foes and set them back second to last in the league despite winning two of its last three games.
Auburn (14-11, 7-5 SEC) had an 11-3 stretch in the middle of the season before losing four of five games.
The Tigers' three-game losing streak was snapped Sunday when they defeated the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks 64-59.
As a result of their slides, both teams are still fighting to reach the postseason.
"All the players know the importance of this game, and it is important on different levels," said head coach Nell Fortner. "This is our rival, and you always want to beat your rival, especially when you are playing at home.
"But we are also playing for our postseason life right now, and every win is very important to us."
Auburn defeated Alabama 66-55 in Tuscaloosa earlier in the season, but Tierney Jenkins caused problems for the Tigers, grabbing 15 rebounds and five steals in addition to scoring 31 points.
For Auburn, Jordan Greenleaf led the team in scoring with 19 points.
Jenkins leads the Tide in scoring with 411 points, averaging 16.4 points per game. She has lead the team in scoring for all but five games. Jenkins also leads in rebounds and steals.
Besides Jenkins, Fortner cited freshman Kaneisha Horn as a potential threat.
Horn is third on the team in scoring, averaging 8.9 points per game.
"Alabama is tough, fast, scrappy and athletic," Fortner said. "They will press you and try to get up the floor quickly on offense. We have our work cut out for us."
Auburn averages 62.5 points per game, but before the Arkansas win, the last time the Tigers scored 60 or more points was nearly a month earlier against LSU.
Alabama averages 66.6 points per game, but has been outscored by opponents who average 67.3 points per game.
By winning two of their last three games, the Crimson Tide have put themselves back in a position to make a postseason run.
Auburn can earn a first-round bye in the conference tournament by finishing in at least fourth place, though it cannot happen without help from other teams.
Both the Tigers and Tide can possibly make the NCAA postseason tournament with at-large berths without winning the conference championship if they win out.
"I always look forward to playing Alabama," Fortner said. "It's just such a good rivalry game, and the teams get up for it, and it's good for the fans, and I'm just looking forward to playing."
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