The Auburn women’s basketball team will once again try to end its conference losing streak when the Tigers (8-6, 0-3 SEC) visit the Florida Gators (11-5, 1-2 SEC) in Auburn's third road trip in four games.
Despite owning a 22-20 series lead over the Gators, the Tigers have dropped the last three games against Florida, including two losses last year.
After two close losses to begin SEC play, the Tigers suffered a disappointing setback to LSU on Sunday, falling 76-48. The loss, Auburn's largest of the season, extended the Tigers’ conference losing streak to 19 games, dating back to Feb. 27, 2020, when the Tigers last earned a 95-82 win over Missouri.
The Tigers have been close to breaking their losing streak. The first two games in SEC play were nailbiters, with a three-point loss at Alabama and an overtime loss at Missouri. In four of Auburn’s six losses this season, the Tigers were down by just one possession in the final minute of regulation.
The Gators are coming off of a thrilling victory in College Station, Texas, over Texas A&M. The Gators got the 97-89 win, Florida’s first conference victory, in double overtime over the Aggies on Sunday after overcoming a 19-point deficit.
Aicha Coulibaly leads the Tigers, and is fourth in the SEC, with 17.6 points per game. Coulibaly is seventh in the league with 8.1 rebounds per game.
Despite the performance of Coulibaly this season, Auburn ranks 13th in the SEC in scoring, only averaging 65.4 points per game. A large part of the Tigers’ struggles have been the inconsistency from behind the arc. The Tigers have made just 27.9% of their 3-pointers taken, including just one make against LSU.
Florida is not far ahead of the Tigers, ranking 12th in the conference with 68.4 points a game. The Gators have a balanced scoring attack. Despite no players ranking in the SEC’s top-15 in scoring, the Gators have three players averaging double figures.
Kiara Smith leads the Gators with 13.2 points per game, Lavender Briggs averages 12.5 points per game and Jordyn Merritt averages 11.3 points each game. Smith is fifth in the SEC with 70 assists and is 10th nationally in defensive steals, totaling 44 steals thus far this season.
On Sunday, Zippy Broughton had the best game of her Florida career, scoring 28 points in the Gator’s come-from-behind victory.
Despite the relatively low-scoring offenses, both teams boast good defenses. Auburn allows only 59.2 points per game, while the Gators allow an average of 64.4 per contest.
Thursday’s game will tip-off from Gainesville, Florida, where Auburn holds a record of 7-11 all-time, at 4 p.m. CST and will be broadcast live on the SEC Network.
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Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @mattwallaceAU
