In its final home game of the season on Thursday, Auburn (10-15, 2-12 SEC) looks to build on its latest win when it hosts the Ole Miss Rebels (21-6, 9-5 SEC) in a SEC-West women’s basketball showdown.
In their last game, the Tigers defeated their third ranked opponent of the season in then-No. 21 Georgia. This marked their second conference win of the season, a year after they went winless in conference play. They also hit double digits in wins, doubling last season’s five-win campaign.
Auburn has struggled to build on its big wins this season, suffering losses following the first two victories over ranked opponents late in the season in disappointing fashion. It lost by eight to Little Rock after a win at Georgia Tech in November and faltered in a 15-point defeat at the hands of Vanderbilt after it beat then-No. 4 Tennessee in January.
Coming off a 70-62 victory over Arkansas, Ole Miss hopes to build off of its recent success. With its most recent loss coming on Feb. 13 at Mississippi State, Ole Miss enters the game on a three-game win streak. The team has been successful on the road, as it is 7-2 away from home this season.
This matchup features two offenses who struggle to put points on the board, but the teams find its strides on defense. Ole Miss and Auburn rank 11th and 12th in the SEC in scoring, respectively.
The Rebels average 67.7 points per game, but they rank second in the conference and 21st in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 55 points a game.
Offensively, Shakira Austin paves the way for the Rebels with 14.8 points per game. She also ranks fourth in the league with 8.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks each game. She dominated on the boards in their last matchup with Arkansas with 16 rebounds, and she recorded 11 points.
In its latest action on Tuesday, Ole Miss looked to the bench for production on offense. Angel Baker led the squad to a win over Arkansas in Oxford with a team-best 17 points.
Opposingly, Auburn puts up 64.1 points a contest, while holding opponents to 64.3 points a game. The offense has fallen on the shoulders of the team’s leading scorer, Aicha Coulibaly, for much of the season, but another star has emerged as of late in Honesty Scott-Grayson.
Coulibaly is still the team’s featured scorer for the season with 17.8 points per contest, which is fourth-best in the league, but Scott-Grayson has led the charge in three of the team’s past four outings with 20 points or more. No. 23 for the Tigers now averages 13.1 points per game, and her 23-point, eight rebound performance led them to an upset of Georgia.
The Rebels come in at second in the conference in steals, with 10.2 a game, and they force 19.4 turnovers per contest. This is something the Tigers need to beware of, as they give the ball up 15.2 times a game.
While Ole Miss has been able to win games with its strong defensive effort, Auburn has struggled to finish out and win close games. The Tigers have lost nine games by fewer than 10 points this season, and a lot of that is caused by little bench production.
In its last three losses, the Auburn bench has put up 10, seven and nine points as a unit. The offensive workload has continually been thrown on the shoulders of Coulibaly and Scott-Grayson, who accounted for 42 of the squad’s 65 points in the win over Georgia.
The Tigers also hope to keep up their elevated shooting performance. They shot 40.7% from the field against Georgia, improving on their 39% season average. They also converted on 40% of their 3-pointers, 12% better than their 28% season mark.
Seniors Kiyae White and Xaria Wiggins prepare to say their goodbyes to Auburn Arena on Thursday night. This matchup serves as the Tigers’ senior night for 2022, as it is the team’s final home game of the regular season.
Tip-off between the Rebels and Tigers occurs at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Auburn Arena. The game can be viewed on SEC Network-plus or heard on Auburn radio.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
