The Auburn Tigers will hit the road this week to face the 8-time national champions in the Tennessee Lady Volunteers.
Auburn coming off a nail-biter loss to Oklahoma that came down to the wire and are looking to put that loss behind them and move on to its next game. This one will be a tough matchup as Tennessee is one of the premier teams in the SEC coming into this game ranked No. 15 in the country.
Coach Kim Caldwell is having them play some good basketball in her first season as the Volunteers head coach. The Lady Vols boasts a regular season record of 17-6 with a conference record of 4-6. Tennessee leads the series matchup over the years 49-12, with them winning the previous two matchups.
The Lady Vols average 90 points per contest and have a deep bench where 10 players log double-digits in minutes per game. Let’s now see who some of the key players to watch are in this upcoming SEC matchup.
Players to Watch:
Auburn:
Deyona Gaston
Gaston is averaging a team high 21.9 points per game along with leading the team in rebounds at 6.9. Her defense effort is going to be key in this game in being a lockdown defender on the perimeter stopping Tennessee back court from getting easy buckets.
Tennessee:
Talaysia Cooper
Cooper has been the Vols leading scorer with 17.5 points per game and leading rebounder with six per game the entire season. She is on the Naismith Defensive player of the year watchlist for this season making her a tough opponent to beat one on one.
Samaria Spencer
Spencer is the Lady Vols top shooter with the most minutes played shooting 40.7% from behind the arc while averaging 10.5 points and 5 assists per game. Leaving her wide open would be a mistake for the Tigers to make come Thursday night if she’s given the chance to shoot.
This game will come down to a defensive battle in who doesn’t want the other team to score more. Auburn’s game plan must be for not allowing the Vols to get hot and go on a long scoring run. If they can limit turnovers and keep the pace to their liking, it will play in the Tigers favor.
The game between the Lady Volunteers and Auburn Tigers tips off on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 5:30 p.m. CST and will be broadcast on SECN+.
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William Halliday is a junior journalism major from Memphis, Tennessee. He started with the Plainsman in fall 2022.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @wphalliday3
