The Auburn Tigers go on the road to face not only one of the best teams in the SEC but arguably the best team in the country.
Auburn just came off a big win against Florida on Sunday and is looking to build off of that. The Tigers two leading scorers in that game were DeYona Gaston with 18 points and Yuting Deng with 16 points. The Tigers will need to keep shooting well as they went 6-12 from three and will need all the points they can get against South Carolina.
The Gamecocks are 20-1 on the year and 8-0 in SEC play. Their last lost came all the way in November at Number 5 UCLA. Since then, South Carolina has been dominating opponents with their great offense averaging 81.3 points per game and one of the best defenses in the country only allowing 55.5 points per game. They are ranked in the top 3 in the SEC in both of these categories.
Players to Watch
Auburn
DeYona Gaston- Gaston has been Auburn's best player this year averaging 21.5 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game. She will have to be huge scoring the ball and defending the paint for Auburn. She also does a great job of getting to the foul line which could help get South Carolinas big men in foul trouble.
Yuting Deng- Deng is arguably Auburn's best shooter so far in her three games played averaging almost 10 points per game shooting 42.9% from three. Auburn will need all the scoring they can get against the high-powered Gamecock offense so look for her to take and make a lot of shots from beyond the arc
South Carolina
Joyce Edwards-Edwards is South Carolinas leading scorer this year at 12.4 points per game while shooting very efficiently from the field at 56.3%. She is a very good player down low and will be an interesting matchup for the likes of Gaston.
Te-Hina Paopao-Paopao is averaging 10.8 points per game and 2.8 assists per game which leads the Gamecocks. She also shoots 37.9% from three. Look for her to get her teammates involved while also shooting the ball well from three.
Overall, this game will be Auburn's toughest test of the year being on the road against a top-three team in the country. Auburn needs to play solid defense and get South Carolina into foul trouble. They will also need to shoot the ball well especially from three to keep up with the Gamecock offense. If they can do this an upset is definitely possible which would be a huge win to turn the Tigers season around.
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Jack is a sophomore majoring in sports production. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
