It's been nearly a week and a half, but Auburn women's basketball is taking the court once again on Wednesday following a nine-day hiatus.
This time, it's a road game against Belmont, who defeated the Tigers 78-57 last season on its way to making the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins made it to the second round after defeating 5-seed Gonzaga, before losing to 4-seed Indiana.
This season, Belmont is 4-4, but all four losses have come away from The Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Most of the games that Belmont has played have been away games, with Wednesday's contest just the third home game of the season for the Bruins.
Meanwhile, Auburn is 1-2 on the season on the road, but it's lone win was an upset over Georgia Tech, 59-51. Belmont also played Georgia Tech in Atlanta earlier this season, a week before Auburn did, but lost 58-45.
Auburn will be the third SEC opponent for Belmont, which defeated Ole Miss and lost to Arkansas in November. The Tigers are looking to build off of an 11-point victory over Oklahoma State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, while the Bruins are looking to bounce back from a loss to No. 10 Louisville.
Aicha Coulibaly has been phenomenal for Auburn lately, leading the team in scoring in each of the last three games. in each game, Coulibaly has scored over 20 points and has led the team in rebounds for two of the games.
If Coulibaly can continue her hot streak, Belmont will be in trouble.
Especially if Honesty Scott-Grayson shoots the ball well. Scott-Grayson, who is one of Auburn's best shooters, scored a season-high 22 points in the win over Oklahoma State.
The combination of Coulibaly and Scott-Grayson, along with some other key components, have led Auburn to its first three game win streak since opening last season with three straight victories. The Tigers are 5-1 over their last six games, outscoring opponents by an average of 16 points in that span.
It's been a team effort to win three in a row, the Tigers have had 10 assists in each of their last three games. The bench has also been a factor for Auburn. After starting off sparsely in the season with scoring, Auburn's bench is starting to find the basket.
The Tigers have scored 70-plus points in three straight games for the first time since Nov. 6 to Nov. 21, 2019.
That could be the magic number for Auburn, seeing that Belmont has scored over 70 points only once this season, in its opening win against Chattanooga. It's possible for the Tigers to hit that mark, the Bruins' defense allows 61.8 points per game.
On offense, Belmont has two players averaging double figures in points. Destinee Wells is the leading scorer, averaging 17.5 points per game while Tuti Jones follows with 12.5 points per game.
Auburn will be facing a team that likes to shoot the 3-point shot. The Bruins have shot the ball from deep 218 times this year, nearly double the amount of 3-pointers that opposing teams have taken against the Tigers this season.
Belmont makes about eight or nine per game, but Auburn has done a good job at defending the perimeter this season, holding opponents to a .226 make percentage from downtown.
The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. from The Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
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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
