Auburn women’s basketball (14-14, 3-10 SEC) hasn’t exactly been impressive this season, but head coach Larry Vickers and company are looking to string together a set of wins to close the year.
The Tigers snapped a seven-game losing streak on Thursday at Missouri, defeating the opposing Tigers, 71-58, for just their third SEC win of the season. The other two conference victories came Jan. 11 and Jan. 15, as Auburn took down Florida and No. 21 Alabama.
After starting league play at 2-3, the Tigers followed the Iron Bowl of Women’s Basketball win with consecutive losses to No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 3 South Carolina, Ole Miss, Florida, No. 5 LSU, and Texas A&M. Auburn put up a fight in a few games, like its close seven-point loss to the Sooners, but it has also posted extremely disappointing showings. For example, South Carolina and LSU won by 30 and 33, respectively, on Auburn’s home floor.
Auburn looks to begin a new streak on Monday, though, as the Tigers host No. 24 Georgia (20-7, 6-7 SEC) at Neville Arena.
The Bulldogs sit at 10th in the SEC after dropping four of their last six games, most recently falling to No. 11 Oklahoma in a narrow 71-67 loss on their home floor on Thursday. However, Georgia defeated No. 5 Vanderbilt, 76-74, the game prior, which stands as arguably its best performance of the season.
Georgia is led by sophomore guard Dani Carnegie, who headlines the team in scoring with 18.4 points per game, which is good for eighth in the SEC. Carnegie, the transfer from arch-rival Georgia Tech, is shooting 44.0% from the field and 38.4% from behind the arc on the season.
Carnegie also leads the Bulldogs on the glass, as she averages 5.7 rebounds per game, but she is closely followed by sophomore forward Mia Woolfolk, who is recording 5.5 boards and 13.2 points per outing to pilot Georgia’s frontcourt.
On the flip side, Auburn guard Harissoum Coulibaly averages a team-best 10.7 points per game, with guard Kaitlyn Duhon not far behind with 10.0 points per contest. As demonstrated by the Tigers’ leading scorers, Auburn’s offense has certainly seen its fair share of struggles this season, as it ranks last in the conference with just 60.8 points per game, on average.
Coincidentally, Georgia’s defense has been solid thus far, as it allows an average of 60.8 points per game – the same amount of points that Auburn averages.
Although the NCAA tournament is pretty much out of the picture this season, Auburn still has an opportunity to make steps in the right direction in Vickers’ inaugural campaign on the Plains.
A win over the Bulldogs on Monday night would surpass Auburn’s SEC win total last year (3), and it would also mark the Tigers’ third consecutive home victory over Georgia. Additionally, if Auburn edges out the win, it would guarantee at least a .500 regular season record, which hasn’t happened since the 2023-24 season.
Auburn and Georgia are set to tip off at 6 p.m. CST inside Neville Arena, and the game can be found on SEC Network.
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Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
