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A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn women's basketball seeking fifth-straight win

<p>Nov. 30, 2021; Aicha Coulibaly (5) dribbles the ball in a game against North Florida from Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala.</p>

Nov. 30, 2021; Aicha Coulibaly (5) dribbles the ball in a game against North Florida from Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala.

It's been nearly two weeks since Johnnie Harris and the Tigers have played a game on their home court. And it's been over three weeks since they've suffered a loss.

Auburn is playing its best basketball right now, just ahead of SEC play. But before it opens its conference slate with a game against Kentucky, Auburn will have to handle two non-conference opponents, starting with Grambling State on Saturday.

Grambling State is the complete opposite of Auburn. While the Auburn Tigers look to stay hot and win their fifth straight game, the Grambling State Lady Tigers are looking to get back on track with a win to end a six-game losing streak.

They won their first two games of the season, but have lost six in a row by double figures.

This will be the fourth matchup between the two all-time. Auburn leads the series 3-0, with the latest victory coming in 2018.

Aicha Coulibaly has led Auburn in scoring the previous four games, with four consecutive performance of 20-plus points. She's been the most dangerous player for the Tigers lately on offense, but that doesn't take away from the threat of others around her.

Three Tigers reached double figures in the game against Belmont on Wednesday. Starters Honesty Scott-Grayson (19) and Sania Wells (13) each reached double digits in points. Meanwhile, Jala Jordan came off the bench and nearly had a double-double, with 10 points and nine rebounds.

If Auburn can have multiple players in double figures again, make the extra pass and protect the perimeter like it did against Belmont, Grambling State will have trouble staying in this one.

Protecting the perimeter was a big part of Auburn's 71-62 win over Belmont. Belmont, an avid 3-point shooting team, shot the long ball 27 times. Several were contested by the defense and as a result, only six were made.

Grambling State has had issues creating offense and protecting on defense this season. The Lady Tigers average 55.8 points per game, while giving up 74.6 points per game. That's been Auburn's magic number lately, scoring in the 70s.

In each of the last four wins, the Tigers have crossed the 70-point threshold. The offense has not been this efficient since 2018, when Auburn scored 70-plus points in nine consecutive games.

However, this could be a game where the defense shines for Auburn. Grambling State has a high turnover rate, committing nearly 20 turnovers per game. It's led to an average of 21.4 points off of turnovers for opponents. For a pair of crafty guards like Coulibaly and Scott-Grayson, who are at the top of the stat sheet in steals for Auburn, they're a duo to watch for on Saturday.

Tip off is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday from Auburn Arena in Auburn, Alabama, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN-plus.


Caleb Jones | Sports Editor

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


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