Auburn women’s basketball will be starting its season officially this week with its first regular season game starting against nonconference opponent Jacksonville State.
The Tigers have met the Gamecocks 16 times with Auburn holding a 15-1 record. Additionally, Auburn is 42-10 all-time in season openers and winners in 42 of its last 43 season openers.
In the Tigers' two exhibition games they played this past week, they shot 47.6 % from the field as well as 27.4 % from beyond the arc. Its defense held their opponents to 57 points per game as well as 35.4 % from the field.
Auburn’s bench has been impressive as it's scored 95 points over the two exhibition games. Head coach Johnnie Harris has talked about trying different lineups on the court and could try to use some of those bench players that added a lot to the box score to make a difference in this game.
Now, a look at the Gamecocks. They are coming off an exhibition win against Montevallo University where junior Jaz Spencer had a team high of 15 points. They shot a little over 72% from the field in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Their defense is something not to overlook as they averaged 16.2 forced turnovers per game last season. That went along with 6.2 steals as well as just over one block per game. Keeping the Gamecocks off the board will also be important as they averaged a little over 37 rebounds a game last season.
Auburn will look to contain Spencer and limit her offensive capabilities. Both benches' production will be important in this game as the starters will not be the only ones able to carry the load.
Auburn will ask for fifth-year senior Honesty Scott-Grayson to lead the offense in points scored as she averaged 16.5 points in its preseason games. She shot 63% from the field and 50% from behind the arc. Scott-Grayson started 27 games last season and was the team's leading scorer with 12.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 steals as a redshirt senior.
The Tigers will also need assisted effort from Taylen Collins and Celia Sumbane – both who had solid performances in the exhibition games.
The Tigers went 10-2 before conference matchups last season. A win against the Gamecocks would put them on track toward that same record, if not better this season.
This game against Jacksonville State will take place on Monday Nov. 6 inside Neville Arena at 7 p.m. CST on SECN +.
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William Halliday started with The Plainsman in fall 2022. He is a journalism major from Memphis, Tennessee.
Twitter: @wphalliday3
