Following a 13-point road loss to Old Dominion, Auburn women's basketball returns to Auburn Arena on Tuesday to host Alabama State. The Tigers are looking to get the first win of the Johnnie Harris era and eliminate a 19-game losing streak, which dates back to last season.
Alabama State missed the NCAA Tournament by a single point last season, losing the SWAC Championship to Jackson State 67-66 last March.
Similar to Auburn, the Hornets are also 0-2 through two games this season. They suffered a 29-point loss to Mississippi State and a 35-point loss to No. 23 South Florida, both on the road.
Meanwhile, Auburn nearly had an opening-night victory against Georgia Southern last week but fell just short. The Tigers then went on the road against Old Dominion on Sunday, where they lost 57-44.
Auburn has struggled on offense this season, shooting 29% from the field and averaging 55 points per game. Most of these problems stem from the fact that starters contribute to 82.7% of scoring offense.
The Tigers have gone with the same starting five in both games this season: Sania Wells, Aicha Coulibaly, Honesty Scott-Grayson, Annie Hughes and Kiyae’ White.
The lack of depth for the Tigers has been problematic, the bench has scored 19-of-110 total points for Auburn through two games. Against Old Dominion, the bench was 0-for-10 from the field.
Auburn’s only bench points in the game were the first career points for Mar’shaun Bostic and Adaora Onwumelo, who both made a pair of free throws. That’s going to have to change on Tuesday.
Alabama State has had issues defending outside the arc this season around the perimeter, giving up nearly 10 3-pointers in both games this season. Not that 3s are a strength of Auburn, which is 6-for-27 from downtown this season.
The Tigers are going to have to find some sort of rhythm on offense and the bench is going to have to step up if the losing streak is to be broken on Tuesday. Old Dominion outscored Auburn 34-19 in the second half on Sunday, so finishing the game is another key factor for finding the win column.
With road games against No. 18 Georgia Tech and a Little Rock team that’s already defeated one SEC team this season looming ahead, this may be Auburn’s best chance for a win until it returns home later this month.
Auburn leads the all-time series with Alabama State 5-0. The last time the two schools faced off was in 2018, the last season that the Tigers made the NCAA Tournament.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CST from Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network-plus.
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Originally from Helena, Ala., Caleb Jones is a senior studying journalism at Auburn University. He has been on staff with The Plainsman since 2019.
You can follow him here on Twitter: @calebjsports
