After gaining their first road win of the season, the 3-0 Auburn Tigers head back home to play California, and then go to Orlando, Florida, to play UCF. Head coach Johnnie Harris and her team will look to start the season 5-0, as they try to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018-2019.
Auburn defeated Rutgers on Sunday 76-56 following a huge second quarter. This win marked Auburn's best start under Harris, as it has been steadily improving every year with her at the helm. A win Friday against a tough Cal team would really help cement this as the best start since 2016 when the team started 5-0.
The Bears will not make it easy for Auburn as they also boast a record of 3-0 as the programs meet for the first time ever. California is coming off a 74-60 win over Cal Poly, where the team hit double-digit 3-pointers for the second time in three games.
California’s backcourt is led by graduate guard Ioanna Krimili, who is averaging 15 points on the season. She is coming off a game where she hit all four of her three-point attempts, scoring 14 points in only 11 minutes of action. Redshirt junior guard Kemery Martin takes up the other guard spot as she is averaging 11 points on the season.
California has other capable players on the wings and frontcourt, including junior forward Marta Suarez who is scoring 12.7 points per game along with 2.3 steals and 1.6 blocks per game to make her a two-way threat. California has four other players averaging over 7.7 points per game, meaning Auburn will have to play well defensively if it wants to pull out a win.
After California comes to the Plains, Auburn will head to Orlando to take on UCF Knights. UFC is 2-0 on the season and coming off a 96-73 win over Anderson. UCF is averaging a staggering 98.5 points per game on the season, with a margin of victory over 30 points. The Knights' offense is led by junior guard Kaitlin Patterson, who is averaging 24.5 points per game so far this season.
The Knights also have three other guards in Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu, Mya Burns and Laila Jewett, all averaging 13 points per game. Four other players average over eight points per game for UCF, making its offense one most effective and prolific so far into the season. Auburn will have to play even better defense in this game against UCF if it wants to have any hope in slowing down this offense.
The Tigers are trying to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years this season and wins against California and UCF would provide a lot of momentum to that goal early in the season. Auburn and California will tip off Friday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. CST in Neville Arena with the game streaming on SECN+. The Tigers will then tip off Monday, Nov. 20, at 6 PM CST in Orlando with the game streaming on ESPN+.
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Luke McClure is a junior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in sports production. He joined The Plainsman in fall 2023.
Twitter: @lukemcclure0
