How to Watch, Listen: Lady Vols-Auburn
The No. 4 Tennessee Lady Vols are set to take on the unranked Auburn Tigers on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET in Auburn Arena. The Lady Vols have a perfect 7-0 conference record whereas the Tigers are the polar opposite with an 0-7 SEC record.
Tennessee recently lost key role player Keyen Green to an ACL tear, and she is out for the season. The Lady Vols matchup against Auburn is a terrific opportunity for Kellie Harper to see what kind of production junior center Emily Saunders and freshman forward Karoline Striplin can bring in the post to relieve Tamari Key.
Auburn will be playing its third game in a five-game span due to rescheduling, and the Lady Vols seem likely to secure yet another dominate conference win and remain perfect on the road this season.
Below is information on how to watch Tennessee-Auburn and more information on the Lady Vols and Tigers' squads as a whole. All information provided by University of Tennessee Athletics Media/Communications Department
How to Watch
-Lyn Rollins (play-by-play) and Auburn women's hoops coaching legend Joe Ciampi (analyst) will have the call for the SECN+ live stream.
-All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
How to Listen
-Lady Vol Network radio stations and by audio stream, with John Wilkerson filling in for Mickey Dearstone behind the microphone. Wilkerson will be joined by studio host Bobby Rader.
-A link to the live audio stream can be found on each game's Hoops Central page or the Lady Vol schedule on UTSports.com.
-For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on Vol Network Affiliates.
-Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
Connections Between Lady Vols-Auburn
-This year's Tennessee squad features three players who hail from the state of Alabama, two coaches who spent their childhood there, and two more coaches who worked at Auburn.
-Graduate Alexus Dye calls Birmingham home, while freshmen Sara Puckett and Karoline Striplin come from Muscle Shoals and Hartford, respectively.
-Striplin's parents were student-athletes at Auburn, with dad Jim Bob playing football and mom Karie playing softball there.
-UT assistant Samantha Williams was born in Luverne, Ala., before later moving to Louisville, Ky., while Joy McCorvey is from Brewton, Ala., and graduated from T.R. Miller High School.
-Head coach Kellie Harper spent two years from 1999-2001 on Joe Ciampi's staff at Auburn (admin. asst., then assistant coach), while Jon Harper graduated from Auburn and spent three seasons as a practice player, manager and intern for Ciampi from 1996-99.
-Samantha Williams played for the Tigers and Ciampi from 1992-96, connecting with Jon Harper during that time and facing off against UT as a senior in 1995-96 when Kellie was a freshman Lady Vol.
Last Time Out for Lady Vols
-The No. 5/6 Lady Vols picked up their fifth AP Top-25 win of the season on Sunday afternoon, defeating No. 13/13 Georgia in Stegeman Coliseum, 63-55.
-Tennessee (18-1/7-0 SEC), the only team undefeated in conference play, is enjoying its best start to a season since the 2007-08 campaign when the squad started 22-1 en route to SEC and NCAA championships. Its league beginning this year is the program's finest since starting 13-0 in 2014-15.
-The Big Orange women have now reeled off nine straight wins in 2021-22 and nine straight conference wins, dating back to last season. They also won their seventh straight SEC road contest, with their last setback coming last season at Georgia.
-Junior Jordan Horston turned in her ninth double-double of the season and fourth in five games to lead Tennessee with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Rae Burrell was also in double digits with 13.
-Jenna Staiti was the high scorer for UGA (15-4, 4-3 SEC) with 16, while Que Morrison was close behind with 14.
Lady Vols-Auburn Series
-Tennessee holds a 47-11 all-time record vs. Auburn, dating back to Feb. 9, 1980, and has won 31 of the past 34 games in the series.
-The Lady Vols are 23-2 vs. the Tigers in games held in Knoxville, 15-5 in games played at Auburn and 9-4 at neutral sites.
-UT has won in 16 of its last 18 trips to The Plains after getting a "W" there on Feb. 28, 2021.
-During her freshman season and in Tennessee's last trip to Auburn Arena, Jordan Horston hit a runner in the lane with 0.6 left on the game clock to give the Lady Vols a 56-55 victory.
-UT is 2-0 vs. AU in overtime games, winning extra-frame contests in Knoxville vs. the Tigers in 1996 and 2004.
-Tennessee has limited Auburn to 66 points or fewer 14 of the last 16 times they've met and to 61 or less on 11 of those occasions.
-Tennessee and Auburn played for the 1989 NCAA Championship in Tacoma, Wash., with the Lady Vols prevailing, 76-60.
-Tennessee also beat the Tigers in regional finals in 1987 and 1991 en route to NCAA Final Fours they would end up winning.
-UT and AU four times played for SEC Tourney titles from 1985 to 1990, with the Lady Vols winning three of those (1985, 1988, 1989).
-Chamique Holdsclaw scored a career-high 39 points vs. the Tigers on Feb. 14, 1998, marking the sixth-highest point total in Lady Vol history.
-Kellie Harper is 3-2 all-time vs. Auburn, defeating the Tigers the past two seasons as UT's coach and in 2012 while at NC State. She was 0-2 vs. AU (with Nell Fortner at the helm) while leading Western Carolina.
Auburn Info
-Auburn is led by the trio of Aicha Coulibaly (17.7 ppg., 8.2 rpg.), Honesty Scott-Grayson (12.5 ppg.) and Sania Wells (10.3 ppg.).
-Despite its record, AU has a win at #18 Ga. Tech and an overtime loss against a solid Missouri club.
-Johnnie Harris is in her first season at Auburn as the head coach after spending last year as the associate head coach at the University of Texas following 16 years combined at Arkansas, Texas A&M and Mississippi State.
-She was instrumental in MSU's success before following Vic Schaefer to Austin last year.
Last Time Out for Auburn
-Auburn rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to take a lead in the final five minutes, but the Tigers were held off by a late 17-2 Kentucky run in a 67-55 loss Tuesday night at Auburn Arena.
-Aicha Coulibaly recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, both team highs. She also paced Auburn with four steals. Honesty Scott-Grayson scored 10 points, all in the second half.
-UK's Rhyne Howard scored 12 of her 29 points in the final four-plus minutes to seal the win.
UT-AU Previous Meeting
-The No. 20/21 Lady Vols closed out the regular season with a dominant win over Auburn on Feb. 28, 2021, racing to an 88-54 victory in Thompson-Boling Arena on Senior Day.
-With the triumph, Tennessee (15-6, 9-4 SEC) finished third in league play and locked up the No. 3 seed for the SEC Tournament.
-Tennessee was led by senior Rennia Davis, who had 23 points and 11 rebounds in her final game on The Summitt. Fellow senior Kasiyahna Kushkituah also had a big day, turning in a career-high 19 points and added eight rebounds.
-Additionally for UT, sophomore Tamari Key posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore Jordan Horston narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with 12 points and a career-high-tying nine assists. Junior Rae Burrell was also in double digits, ending the day with 14 points and four assists.
-Alaina Rice was the high scorer for Auburn (5-18, 0-15 SEC) with 11 points, and Unique Thompson and Alycia Reese each finished with 10.
Sara Puckett Cover Photo Credit: Tennessee Athletics
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