Little Rock to host Auburn in final home appearance of calendar year

The Little Rock women's basketball team will play its final home game of the 2023 calendar year Sunday when the Trojans host the Auburn Tigers for a 2 pm non-conference contest at the Jack Stephens Center. Sunday's game is part of a home doubleheader with the men's team hosting Winthrop at noon. The game with Auburn can be streamed on ESPN+ and heard locally on Sports Animal 920 AM with Trey Schaap on the call.
 
GAME NOTES
 
Auburn (6-2) leads the all-time series, 2-1, but the Trojans (0-6) won the only previous meeting in Little Rock – a 57-49 victory in November 2001. Last season, the Tigers topped Little Rock by a 70-48 score in Auburn, Ala. The only other meeting between the two schools occurred in December 2000 on a neutral floor.
 
Little Rock will follow this game with six straight road games to close out the 2023 calendar, including trips to Murray State (Dec. 14), Arkansas State (Dec. 17) and two games at the Tulane Holiday Tournament in New Orleans, La. (Dec. 20-21). The Trojans will also begin the OVC schedule on the road at Tennessee Tech (Dec. 28) and Tennessee State (Dec. 30). Little Rock's next home date is Jan. 4 against SIUE.
 
The Trojans fell to in-state rival Central Arkansas 63-58 in its most recent outing, despite putting together their most efficient performance of the season.  Little Rock posted season-highs of 40 percent shooting and 58 points with three players reaching double figures. Jaiyah Harris-Smith led the way with 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Faith Lee added 13 points with five rebounds, and Leilani Wimbish-Gay chipped in 10 points.
 
Auburn is on a three-game win streak after starting 3-2, with wins over Alabama A&M, Clemson, and – most recently – UAB on Dec. 3. Honesty Scott-Grayson poured in a game-high 22 points for the Tigers on the road and Taylen Collins led the team with eight rebounds. Scott-Grayson leads the team with 15.6 points per game, and Sydney Shaw is next with 10.4 per outing. Collins leads in rebounding at 7.3 per contest to go with 7.8 points. Scott-Grayson scored 20 points against the Trojans last year to lead all scorers.