Auburn women’s basketball looks to begin its new season under first-year head coach, Johnnie Harris, on Thursday, Nov. 11 against the Georgia Southern Eagles.
The Tigers have been awaiting the start of this 2021-22 season. A new start might be exactly what this team needs. After a forgettable 5-19 season, including a first-round exit in the SEC Tournament, Auburn parted ways with former head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy.
Auburn hired Johnnie Harris in hopes of getting its program back on track.
On the other hand, Georgia Southern enters its new campaign coming off an 11-13 record and a 5-9 in Sun Belt conference play last year. The Eagles also had a first-round exit in their conference tournament and ended their season on a three-game losing streak.
Both teams had a 2020-21 season to forget. The motivation to start this season off with a win will likely be high.
Auburn had no conference wins last year but was victorious against Georgia Southern’s conference foe, South Alabama. The Tigers had an eight-point advantage against South Alabama in their sole matchup. Georgia Southern split its series with South Alabama, 2-2.
While Auburn did not have a strong 2020 season, it turned in an impressive performance in its exhibition matchup with Miles College last Thursday. The Tigers dominated, with a 102-42 victory.
Even though it was an exhibition, it was the first time Auburn’s women’s team has scored over 100 points in Auburn Arena and the first time in a contest since 2008.
Sophomore guard Aicha Coulibaly led the way in scoring for Auburn with 20 points. She was followed by junior guard, Honesty Scott-Grayson, with 19. The Tigers had several impressive individual performances, but more importantly, they showed great efficiency as a team. Auburn shot 50.7% from the field and 46.2% on 3-point attempts in the game.
This lop-sided victory in the exhibition game will not show on Auburn’s record, but it serves as a much-needed confidence booster to a team that had a disappointing season last year.
With fans able to be back in the stands and cheer on the team, this is a perfect time for the Tigers to put last season in the past and look forward to the future.
Coach Johnnie Harris and the Auburn women’s basketball team will face Georgia Southern in Auburn Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m.
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