Basketball News: 12-16-2025
0 views
Skip to first unread message
Dudley Dent
Dec 16, 2025, 8:06:40 AM (10 days ago) Dec 16
to Tiger Tracks
Auburn Basketball News: 12-16-2025
Where is Auburn ranked in this week’s AP college basketball poll?:
https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2025/12/where-is-auburn-ranked-in-this-weeks-ap-college-basketball-poll.html
First-round potential for Sebastian Williams-Adams? One scout sees the path.:
https://www.on3.com/teams/auburn-tigers/news/first-round-potential-for-sebastian-williams-adams-one-scout-sees-the-path/
Auburn continues road swing at Middle Tennessee:
https://auburntigers.com/news/2025/12/15/auburn-continues-road-swing-at-middle-tennessee
*********************
Where is Auburn ranked in this week’s AP college basketball poll?
By Jerry Humphrey III
al.com
Auburn basketball stayed at No. 21 in this week’s AP poll, after defeating Chattanooga 92-78 in its Holiday Hoopsgiving matchup last weekend.
Auburn joins six other SEC schools in the rankings, as Vanderbilt, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia were all listed in this week’s top 25 poll. Coming up next, the Tigers will get another shot at taking down a top-ranked team as they travel up north to face No. 6 Purdue.
“We’ve got to be better. We need to have a really good week of practice this week, and that starts with me,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said after the Holiday Hoopsgiving. “We’ve got to respond -- because we obviously have a tough opponent in Purdue coming up.”
Auburn will look to score its third victory over a ranked opponent this season after defeating St. John’s at the Players Era Event back in November and NC State in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Auburn is 2-3 vs. ranked foes this season.
The Tigers matchup with the Boilermakers will tipoff at 5:30 following Northwestern vs. Butler in the Indy Classic. It will be streaming live on Peacock.
***********************
First-round potential for Sebastian Williams-Adams? One scout sees the path.
By Justin Hokanson
Can Sebastian Williams-Adams develop into Auburn’s next first-round NBA Draft pick?
At least one NBA scout believes the answer is yes.
Ersin Demir — an NBA Draft, Division I and JUCO scout — recently broke down Williams-Adams’ game and long-term potential. His conclusion: Williams-Adams has the tools and trajectory to become a “10+ year pro.”
You can read Demir’s full evaluation HERE, but here’s a quick summary of his key points.
Demir says Williams-Adams has emerged as one of Auburn’s most intriguing long-term prospects, thriving as a versatile, high-motor defender with a mature feel for the game. He possesses traits that have quietly placed him on NBA radars early in his freshman season. His physical profile stands out immediately. Williams-Adams is a sturdy 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds with an estimated 7’2”–7’3” wingspan. Demir notes fluid movement skills and the strength to defend multiple positions.
Defensively, Demir says Williams-Adams already shows advanced instincts. He can hold his own in the post, rotate reliably, blow up cuts, and defend closeouts with toughness. Demir says Williams-Adams’ reads off the ball, anticipation and competitiveness allow him to impact plays without gambling, and his versatility projects well for switching-heavy NBA schemes.
Offensively, he remains raw but promising. His catch-and-shoot mechanics are inconsistent, and he’s not yet a comfortable three-point threat, though his high release and ability to relocate suggest room for growth. Demir says Williams-Adams is most effective creating from the post, attacking mismatches and using strength and touch around the rim, but he must improve decision-making and avoid settling for tough jumpers. As a slasher, he draws fouls well and can use angles effectively, though his finishing footwork and free-throw percentage need major improvement. Demir notes his best offensive trait is his passing. Williams-Adams possesses a nearly 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, he reads the floor quickly, moves the ball decisively and shows the upside to be a functional short-roll and post facilitator.
Given his elite defensive tools, role versatility and processing speed, Williams-Adams is projected as a potential 2027 first-round pick, Demir says. His long-term NBA value lies in becoming a switchable, intelligent, low-usage power forward who elevates team defense and moves the ball. If his shooting and offensive polish improve, he has a clear pathway to a decade-long NBA career.
Williams-Adams has played in all 11 of Auburn’s games, starting four. He’s averaging 7.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game, with an affective FG percentage of 63.8. Per 40 minutes, Williams-Adams is averaging 12 points, five rebounds and four assists per game.
‘SWA’ COMPARED TO ISAAC OKORO
Through the first stretch of his college career, he’s shown a combination of poise, self-awareness and all-around ability that has earned early comparisons to one of the program’s best in current Chicago Bulls’ standout Isaac Okoro.
Okoro was Freshman All-SEC and Second Team All-SEC at Auburn and picked No. 5 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Tigers’ head coach Steven Pearl has seen enough to know that Williams-Adams’ maturity and basketball IQ are well beyond his years. Pearl said the similarities to Okoro are real in how Williams-Adams processes the game.
“It’s a lot like Isaac when he was a freshman,” Pearl said earlier this season. “With Isaac, it wasn’t like we had a freshman — it felt like we had another senior. And Sebastian’s got a lot of that to him as well, just mature beyond his years.”
Williams-Adams rarely forces plays or hunts for shots. Instead, he plays within the flow of Auburn’s offense and picks his spots wisely.
“He doesn’t try and do too much,” Pearl said. “He understands what his strengths are and really goes at them. The good thing is, he’s capable of doing a lot of things, so it allows you to put him in different spots to make plays.”
For Williams-Adams, that mindset has made the transition from practice to game action much smoother.
“I think I’ve settled pretty well,” he said. “Obviously there’s a difference between exhibition games and being in The Jungle, but the transition has been pretty smooth from practice to these real-life games.”
It’s that level-headedness, discipline and team-first attitude that already make Williams-Adams look like the next in Auburn’s line of elite, unselfish wings, and “SWA” might be one whose ceiling might be just as high as Okoro’s.
***********************
Auburn continues road swing at Middle Tennessee
By Wes Todd
Auburn’s five-day, three-game, three-state road swing continues Tuesday night when the Tigers take on Middle Tennessee. Game time is 6:30 p.m. at the Murphy Center on the MTSU campus.
The Tigers (8-3) look to get back on the winning track after three straight losses, all by six points or less. Auburn came up just short Sunday at Seton Hall despite hitting a season-high 11 3-pointers and getting a career-high 20 points from Kaitlyn Duhon.
Middle Tennessee (4-6) seeks its first win in three tries against an SEC opponent this year. The Blue Raiders fell on the road at Southern Indiana on Sunday in their last outing.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen will have the radio call on ESPN 106.7 FM beginning at 6:15 p.m. CT. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics app.
›› The game can be seen on ESPN+, which requires a subscription.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Kaitlyn Duhon scored a career-high 20 points including five 3-pointers, but Seton Hall out-shot Auburn in the second half as the Tigers fell 69-63 on a snowy day in New Jersey.
›› Auburn (8-3) hit a season-high 11 3-pointers, but Seton Hall (6-3) was one better, hitting a season-high 12 of their own as the Pirates held off the Tigers’ comeback bid.
›› Duhon was a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range and also pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds. Ja’Mia Harris had 17 points with a pair of treys to go along with seven rebounds. A’riel Jackson finished with 10 points and a team-best four assists, and Khady Leye had eight points and seven rebounds.
›› After a difficult first half, the Tigers shot 52 percent in the second half (14-of-27), including a 7-of-13 clip (53.8%) from 3-point range. But free throws were an issue as the Tigers missed six second-half attempts and went 6-of-12 for the game.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Give Auburn a 9-3 start to the season.
›› Be Auburn’s second true road win of the year, matching their total from the 2024-25 season.
›› Be Auburn’s first win in the state of Tennessee since 2019.
›› Snap a three-game losing streak.
AUBURN-MIDDLE TENNESSEE SERIES
›› This is the sixth all-time meeting between Auburn and Middle Tennessee in women’s basketball.
›› Auburn leads 4-1 with prior meetings in home-and-home series in 1985-86 and 1998-99, along with a neutral-site game in 2019. This is Auburn’s first trip to Murfreesboro since 1999.
LAST MEETING: Nov. 29, 2019, in Estero, Fla.
Middle Tennessee 73, Auburn 50
›› Unique Thompson picked up her fifth double-double in as many games, but Auburn could never get going in a 73-50 loss to Middle Tennessee to open the Gulf Coast Showcase.
›› A sloppy start to the game put the Tigers (2-3) in a big early hole, and Auburn was never able to climb out. Middle Tennessee (5-1) took advantage of 15 first-half Auburn turnovers to build a 21-point halftime lead, and Auburn was unable to make enough headway in the second half to get within striking distance.
›› Thompson finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds to give her six straight double-doubles. Sophomore Brooke Moore was the only other Tiger in double-figures with 11 points.
›› Auburn shot a season-low 34.0 percent from the field (18-53) and was 4-of-20 from 3-point range. The Tigers also turned the ball over 23 times, leading to 19 MTSU points.
SCOUTING THE BLUE RAIDERS
›› Middle Tennessee is 4-6 overall with a 2-2 mark at home. The Blue Raiders have already faced two other SEC teams this year, falling at home to Tennessee and at a neutral site to Mississippi State.
›› Last season, Middle Tennessee went 26-9 overall, 16-2 in CUSA, was the CUSA regular-season champion and qualified for the WBIT. The Blue Raiders do not return any starters from last year’s team and were picked third in CUSA this year.
›› Blair Baugus averages 13.2 points and 9.4 rebounds to lead the Blue Raiders.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 8-3 on the year, dropping their last three contests to Oregon, Syracuse and Seton Hall. The Tigers’ 8-0 start was their best since 2008-09.
›› The Tigers rank 30th nationally in scoring defense, holding opponents to 54.7 points per game. Auburn also ranks 31st nationally in steals per game (12.0) and 34th in field goal percentage defense (35.1).
›› Redshirt junior Kaitlyn Duhon leads Auburn in scoring with 10.9 points per game. One of the top defenders in the SEC, she also leads the Tigers with 3.6 steals per game, which ranks 6th in the SEC and 18th nationally. Duhon scored a career-high 20 points and was 5-of-5 from 3-point range at Seton Hall Dec. 14. She also had a career-best 7 steals in the win over Cal on Nov. 26, then had 15 points and six steals at Syracuse Dec. 3. Against Georgia State, she matched a career-high with 8 rebounds.
›› True freshman Harissoum Coulibaly averages 10.4 points per game off the bench, and she also shoots a team-best 53.4% from the field. She led Auburn with 19 points, matching a season-best, in the win over Georgia State Nov. 17. She made a splash in her college debut Nov. 3 at Charlotte, scoring a team-leading 19 points with nine of those coming in the pivotal overtime period. She added 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists vs. MVSU. She came to the U.S. from Paris, France, and she played high school basketball at S3 Academy in Virginia.
›› Mya Petticord, a senior transfer from Rutgers, hit the game-winning shot against her former team, hitting a driving layup with 10 seconds left to clinch the Tigers’ win Nov. 20. She had her best game in two years with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting (3-4 3FG) in the win over Alabama State. She followed that up with a team-leading 18 points (4-7 3FG) in the win over UNCG. Petticord averages 11.2 points per game and leads the SEC in free-throw percentage at 96.2% (25-of-26).
›› Ja’Mia Harris scored in double figures in three of the first four games. She shared the team lead with 19 points and led the Tigers with 8 rebounds in the win at Charlotte Nov. 3, then scored 16 with four 3-pointers in the win over Alabama State. She followed that up with a pair of 3-pointers on an 11-point night - along with 7 rebounds - vs. UNCG, and she had 17 points and 7 rebounds at Seton Hall.
›› Sophomore Khady Leye has scored in double figures in six of the last nine games. She scored a career-high 20 points in the win over MVSU, then she recorded her first Auburn double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds vs. Georgia State. She added a team-leading 14 points in the win over Rutgers Nov. 20. She had three blocks and three steals in each of the first two games.
›› Senior guard A’riel Jackson scored a season-high 17 points, going 7-11 from the field and 3-3 from 3-point range to lead the Tigers in their win over Cal Nov. 26. Two days earlier, she scored a season-high 12 points in the win over UTSA. Jackson knocked down three first-half treys, scoring 9 points with a team-best 4 assists vs. UNCG. She then had 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists against Alabama State.
›› 6-9 redshirt freshmen Arek Angui notched her first career double-double with career-highs 11 points and 11 rebounds vs. Mississippi Valley State. She came from Central Florida, where she appeared in two games as a true freshman last year. She made her first appearance for Auburn against Alabama State Nov. 8 and pulled down a team-leading 8 rebounds along with 3 points. Originally from South Sudan, she played one season of high school basketball at Greenforest Academy in Georgia.
›› Senior guard Angena Belloso transferred from FIU where she played in 57 games the last 2 years. She scored a season-high 10 points, all in the second quarter, in Auburn’s game with Oregon Nov. 30.
›› Sophomore Syriah Daniels scored 10 points with four rebounds and two steals vs. MVSU. She played in 28 games last year, starting six, and averaged 3.6 points and 1.5 rebounds.
›› Junior Clara Koulibaly came from the junior college ranks, where she started all 28 games last season at Gulf Coast State CC and averaged 12.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. She scored a season-high 4 points in the win over Cal.
›› Junior forward Quanirah Montague appeared in all 34 games last year for Mississippi State, averaging 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game.
›› Sophomore guard Eva Garabadian joined the Tigers as a walk-on in mid-November. She played in 16 games at Georgia College last year as a freshman.
DEFENSE IS OUR STRENGTH
›› Through games of Dec. 14, Auburn ranks seventh in the SEC and 30th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 54.7 points per game.
›› All 11 opponents on Auburn’s schedule have been held below their season scoring average, and two have been held to season-lows.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn is back at home for the first time in 18 days when the Tigers take on Alcorn State Thursday, Dec. 18. Game time is 6 p.m. at Neville Arena.
Where is Auburn ranked in this week’s AP college basketball poll?:
https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2025/12/where-is-auburn-ranked-in-this-weeks-ap-college-basketball-poll.html
First-round potential for Sebastian Williams-Adams? One scout sees the path.:
https://www.on3.com/teams/auburn-tigers/news/first-round-potential-for-sebastian-williams-adams-one-scout-sees-the-path/
Auburn continues road swing at Middle Tennessee:
https://auburntigers.com/news/2025/12/15/auburn-continues-road-swing-at-middle-tennessee
*********************
Where is Auburn ranked in this week’s AP college basketball poll?
By Jerry Humphrey III
al.com
Auburn basketball stayed at No. 21 in this week’s AP poll, after defeating Chattanooga 92-78 in its Holiday Hoopsgiving matchup last weekend.
Auburn joins six other SEC schools in the rankings, as Vanderbilt, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia were all listed in this week’s top 25 poll. Coming up next, the Tigers will get another shot at taking down a top-ranked team as they travel up north to face No. 6 Purdue.
“We’ve got to be better. We need to have a really good week of practice this week, and that starts with me,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said after the Holiday Hoopsgiving. “We’ve got to respond -- because we obviously have a tough opponent in Purdue coming up.”
Auburn will look to score its third victory over a ranked opponent this season after defeating St. John’s at the Players Era Event back in November and NC State in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Auburn is 2-3 vs. ranked foes this season.
The Tigers matchup with the Boilermakers will tipoff at 5:30 following Northwestern vs. Butler in the Indy Classic. It will be streaming live on Peacock.
***********************
First-round potential for Sebastian Williams-Adams? One scout sees the path.
By Justin Hokanson
Can Sebastian Williams-Adams develop into Auburn’s next first-round NBA Draft pick?
At least one NBA scout believes the answer is yes.
Ersin Demir — an NBA Draft, Division I and JUCO scout — recently broke down Williams-Adams’ game and long-term potential. His conclusion: Williams-Adams has the tools and trajectory to become a “10+ year pro.”
You can read Demir’s full evaluation HERE, but here’s a quick summary of his key points.
Demir says Williams-Adams has emerged as one of Auburn’s most intriguing long-term prospects, thriving as a versatile, high-motor defender with a mature feel for the game. He possesses traits that have quietly placed him on NBA radars early in his freshman season. His physical profile stands out immediately. Williams-Adams is a sturdy 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds with an estimated 7’2”–7’3” wingspan. Demir notes fluid movement skills and the strength to defend multiple positions.
Defensively, Demir says Williams-Adams already shows advanced instincts. He can hold his own in the post, rotate reliably, blow up cuts, and defend closeouts with toughness. Demir says Williams-Adams’ reads off the ball, anticipation and competitiveness allow him to impact plays without gambling, and his versatility projects well for switching-heavy NBA schemes.
Offensively, he remains raw but promising. His catch-and-shoot mechanics are inconsistent, and he’s not yet a comfortable three-point threat, though his high release and ability to relocate suggest room for growth. Demir says Williams-Adams is most effective creating from the post, attacking mismatches and using strength and touch around the rim, but he must improve decision-making and avoid settling for tough jumpers. As a slasher, he draws fouls well and can use angles effectively, though his finishing footwork and free-throw percentage need major improvement. Demir notes his best offensive trait is his passing. Williams-Adams possesses a nearly 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, he reads the floor quickly, moves the ball decisively and shows the upside to be a functional short-roll and post facilitator.
Given his elite defensive tools, role versatility and processing speed, Williams-Adams is projected as a potential 2027 first-round pick, Demir says. His long-term NBA value lies in becoming a switchable, intelligent, low-usage power forward who elevates team defense and moves the ball. If his shooting and offensive polish improve, he has a clear pathway to a decade-long NBA career.
Williams-Adams has played in all 11 of Auburn’s games, starting four. He’s averaging 7.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game, with an affective FG percentage of 63.8. Per 40 minutes, Williams-Adams is averaging 12 points, five rebounds and four assists per game.
‘SWA’ COMPARED TO ISAAC OKORO
Through the first stretch of his college career, he’s shown a combination of poise, self-awareness and all-around ability that has earned early comparisons to one of the program’s best in current Chicago Bulls’ standout Isaac Okoro.
Okoro was Freshman All-SEC and Second Team All-SEC at Auburn and picked No. 5 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Tigers’ head coach Steven Pearl has seen enough to know that Williams-Adams’ maturity and basketball IQ are well beyond his years. Pearl said the similarities to Okoro are real in how Williams-Adams processes the game.
“It’s a lot like Isaac when he was a freshman,” Pearl said earlier this season. “With Isaac, it wasn’t like we had a freshman — it felt like we had another senior. And Sebastian’s got a lot of that to him as well, just mature beyond his years.”
Williams-Adams rarely forces plays or hunts for shots. Instead, he plays within the flow of Auburn’s offense and picks his spots wisely.
“He doesn’t try and do too much,” Pearl said. “He understands what his strengths are and really goes at them. The good thing is, he’s capable of doing a lot of things, so it allows you to put him in different spots to make plays.”
For Williams-Adams, that mindset has made the transition from practice to game action much smoother.
“I think I’ve settled pretty well,” he said. “Obviously there’s a difference between exhibition games and being in The Jungle, but the transition has been pretty smooth from practice to these real-life games.”
It’s that level-headedness, discipline and team-first attitude that already make Williams-Adams look like the next in Auburn’s line of elite, unselfish wings, and “SWA” might be one whose ceiling might be just as high as Okoro’s.
***********************
Auburn continues road swing at Middle Tennessee
By Wes Todd
Auburn’s five-day, three-game, three-state road swing continues Tuesday night when the Tigers take on Middle Tennessee. Game time is 6:30 p.m. at the Murphy Center on the MTSU campus.
The Tigers (8-3) look to get back on the winning track after three straight losses, all by six points or less. Auburn came up just short Sunday at Seton Hall despite hitting a season-high 11 3-pointers and getting a career-high 20 points from Kaitlyn Duhon.
Middle Tennessee (4-6) seeks its first win in three tries against an SEC opponent this year. The Blue Raiders fell on the road at Southern Indiana on Sunday in their last outing.
ON THE AIR
›› Brit Bowen will have the radio call on ESPN 106.7 FM beginning at 6:15 p.m. CT. The broadcast can also be heard on AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Athletics app.
›› The game can be seen on ESPN+, which requires a subscription.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Kaitlyn Duhon scored a career-high 20 points including five 3-pointers, but Seton Hall out-shot Auburn in the second half as the Tigers fell 69-63 on a snowy day in New Jersey.
›› Auburn (8-3) hit a season-high 11 3-pointers, but Seton Hall (6-3) was one better, hitting a season-high 12 of their own as the Pirates held off the Tigers’ comeback bid.
›› Duhon was a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range and also pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds. Ja’Mia Harris had 17 points with a pair of treys to go along with seven rebounds. A’riel Jackson finished with 10 points and a team-best four assists, and Khady Leye had eight points and seven rebounds.
›› After a difficult first half, the Tigers shot 52 percent in the second half (14-of-27), including a 7-of-13 clip (53.8%) from 3-point range. But free throws were an issue as the Tigers missed six second-half attempts and went 6-of-12 for the game.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
›› Give Auburn a 9-3 start to the season.
›› Be Auburn’s second true road win of the year, matching their total from the 2024-25 season.
›› Be Auburn’s first win in the state of Tennessee since 2019.
›› Snap a three-game losing streak.
AUBURN-MIDDLE TENNESSEE SERIES
›› This is the sixth all-time meeting between Auburn and Middle Tennessee in women’s basketball.
›› Auburn leads 4-1 with prior meetings in home-and-home series in 1985-86 and 1998-99, along with a neutral-site game in 2019. This is Auburn’s first trip to Murfreesboro since 1999.
LAST MEETING: Nov. 29, 2019, in Estero, Fla.
Middle Tennessee 73, Auburn 50
›› Unique Thompson picked up her fifth double-double in as many games, but Auburn could never get going in a 73-50 loss to Middle Tennessee to open the Gulf Coast Showcase.
›› A sloppy start to the game put the Tigers (2-3) in a big early hole, and Auburn was never able to climb out. Middle Tennessee (5-1) took advantage of 15 first-half Auburn turnovers to build a 21-point halftime lead, and Auburn was unable to make enough headway in the second half to get within striking distance.
›› Thompson finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds to give her six straight double-doubles. Sophomore Brooke Moore was the only other Tiger in double-figures with 11 points.
›› Auburn shot a season-low 34.0 percent from the field (18-53) and was 4-of-20 from 3-point range. The Tigers also turned the ball over 23 times, leading to 19 MTSU points.
SCOUTING THE BLUE RAIDERS
›› Middle Tennessee is 4-6 overall with a 2-2 mark at home. The Blue Raiders have already faced two other SEC teams this year, falling at home to Tennessee and at a neutral site to Mississippi State.
›› Last season, Middle Tennessee went 26-9 overall, 16-2 in CUSA, was the CUSA regular-season champion and qualified for the WBIT. The Blue Raiders do not return any starters from last year’s team and were picked third in CUSA this year.
›› Blair Baugus averages 13.2 points and 9.4 rebounds to lead the Blue Raiders.
SCOUTING AUBURN
›› Auburn is 8-3 on the year, dropping their last three contests to Oregon, Syracuse and Seton Hall. The Tigers’ 8-0 start was their best since 2008-09.
›› The Tigers rank 30th nationally in scoring defense, holding opponents to 54.7 points per game. Auburn also ranks 31st nationally in steals per game (12.0) and 34th in field goal percentage defense (35.1).
›› Redshirt junior Kaitlyn Duhon leads Auburn in scoring with 10.9 points per game. One of the top defenders in the SEC, she also leads the Tigers with 3.6 steals per game, which ranks 6th in the SEC and 18th nationally. Duhon scored a career-high 20 points and was 5-of-5 from 3-point range at Seton Hall Dec. 14. She also had a career-best 7 steals in the win over Cal on Nov. 26, then had 15 points and six steals at Syracuse Dec. 3. Against Georgia State, she matched a career-high with 8 rebounds.
›› True freshman Harissoum Coulibaly averages 10.4 points per game off the bench, and she also shoots a team-best 53.4% from the field. She led Auburn with 19 points, matching a season-best, in the win over Georgia State Nov. 17. She made a splash in her college debut Nov. 3 at Charlotte, scoring a team-leading 19 points with nine of those coming in the pivotal overtime period. She added 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists vs. MVSU. She came to the U.S. from Paris, France, and she played high school basketball at S3 Academy in Virginia.
›› Mya Petticord, a senior transfer from Rutgers, hit the game-winning shot against her former team, hitting a driving layup with 10 seconds left to clinch the Tigers’ win Nov. 20. She had her best game in two years with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting (3-4 3FG) in the win over Alabama State. She followed that up with a team-leading 18 points (4-7 3FG) in the win over UNCG. Petticord averages 11.2 points per game and leads the SEC in free-throw percentage at 96.2% (25-of-26).
›› Ja’Mia Harris scored in double figures in three of the first four games. She shared the team lead with 19 points and led the Tigers with 8 rebounds in the win at Charlotte Nov. 3, then scored 16 with four 3-pointers in the win over Alabama State. She followed that up with a pair of 3-pointers on an 11-point night - along with 7 rebounds - vs. UNCG, and she had 17 points and 7 rebounds at Seton Hall.
›› Sophomore Khady Leye has scored in double figures in six of the last nine games. She scored a career-high 20 points in the win over MVSU, then she recorded her first Auburn double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds vs. Georgia State. She added a team-leading 14 points in the win over Rutgers Nov. 20. She had three blocks and three steals in each of the first two games.
›› Senior guard A’riel Jackson scored a season-high 17 points, going 7-11 from the field and 3-3 from 3-point range to lead the Tigers in their win over Cal Nov. 26. Two days earlier, she scored a season-high 12 points in the win over UTSA. Jackson knocked down three first-half treys, scoring 9 points with a team-best 4 assists vs. UNCG. She then had 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists against Alabama State.
›› 6-9 redshirt freshmen Arek Angui notched her first career double-double with career-highs 11 points and 11 rebounds vs. Mississippi Valley State. She came from Central Florida, where she appeared in two games as a true freshman last year. She made her first appearance for Auburn against Alabama State Nov. 8 and pulled down a team-leading 8 rebounds along with 3 points. Originally from South Sudan, she played one season of high school basketball at Greenforest Academy in Georgia.
›› Senior guard Angena Belloso transferred from FIU where she played in 57 games the last 2 years. She scored a season-high 10 points, all in the second quarter, in Auburn’s game with Oregon Nov. 30.
›› Sophomore Syriah Daniels scored 10 points with four rebounds and two steals vs. MVSU. She played in 28 games last year, starting six, and averaged 3.6 points and 1.5 rebounds.
›› Junior Clara Koulibaly came from the junior college ranks, where she started all 28 games last season at Gulf Coast State CC and averaged 12.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. She scored a season-high 4 points in the win over Cal.
›› Junior forward Quanirah Montague appeared in all 34 games last year for Mississippi State, averaging 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game.
›› Sophomore guard Eva Garabadian joined the Tigers as a walk-on in mid-November. She played in 16 games at Georgia College last year as a freshman.
DEFENSE IS OUR STRENGTH
›› Through games of Dec. 14, Auburn ranks seventh in the SEC and 30th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 54.7 points per game.
›› All 11 opponents on Auburn’s schedule have been held below their season scoring average, and two have been held to season-lows.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn is back at home for the first time in 18 days when the Tigers take on Alcorn State Thursday, Dec. 18. Game time is 6 p.m. at Neville Arena.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages