AUBURN, Ala.—The rise of Auburn women’s basketball under head coach Johnnie Harris has seen some historic moments inside Neville Arena, and there will be another chance for that on Friday night as the Tigers(15-14, 5-11 SEC) will host a first round matchup in the WNIT. This is not the first time Auburn has hosted the WNIT, but this will be the Tigers first postseason appearance since 2019, and their first WNIT game since 2014.
With the sixth all-time appearance in the WNIT, it is an old but familiar spot for the Tigers, and a familiar foe coming to the Plains. The Tulane Green Wave(18-13, 7-9 AAC) will be stepping inside Neville Arena on Friday for their first matchup with the Tigers since 2016.
This will be the eight all-time meeting between the teams, and Auburn has the 5-2 advantage overall and 3-0 at home. The last time the teams faced off, the Green Wave secured a tight 61-59 victory in New Orleans. The two teams have met in the WNIT once before, with the Tigers notching a 72-52 win at home in 2013.
While Coach J is at the beginning of her rebuild, Tulane is led by Lisa Stockton, in her 29th season at helm. Stockton has been a part of every matchup between the two programs, and
Auburn has the advantage of being at home, going 5-1 in WNIT games at home, and going 13-5 at home throughout the 2022-2023 season. Meanwhile Tulane was a perfect .500 on the road this year, winning five of 10 contests away from New Orleans.
Stockton has designed a hard-nosed defense that is ranked No. 22 nationally in field goal defense at 36.2% and No. 20th in 3-point defense at 26.9%.
Auburn has found some success this year inside behind the efforts of All-SEC second team selection Aicha Coulibaly, and they will be challenged but a tenacious Tulane defense.
Tip-off for the round one matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST and can be seen on SEC Network+ or listened to on WQSI 93.9 FM with Brit Bowen and Larry DiChiara on the call.
