Arizona
AuburnSports – Auburn WBB to face Arizona in First Four
Auburn is going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
The Tigers earned an 11-seed, but will have to face fellow 11-seed Arizona in the First Four before truly getting to the Round of 64. It will be in Stores, Conn., with specific dates and times still unknown.
“Weâre excited to be in and weâll just prepare to play that play-in game,” said head coach Johnnie Harris. “Thatâs just another opportunity for our team to play.”
Harris becomes the second Auburn coach to reach the NCAA Tournament by her third season, joining Hall of Fame Coach Joe Ciampi with the accomplishment.
There won’t be much time to rest for Harris and her coaching staff over the next few days.
“Weâll work all night,” Harris said. “My staff is really good about getting scouting reports. Weâve had our kids going through a lot of different scenarios. Weâve been practicing, preparing. The best thing about this team is weâre gonna do what we do best. Weâll go through the scouting report tomorrow and the next day, weâll be ready.”
Auburn’s opponent is Arizona, which earned an at-large bid by going 17-15 overall with an 8-10 conference record in the Pac 12. It boasts two top-25 wins, taking down No. 11 Utah in early January and upsetting No. 3 Stanford on the road last month.
What does Harris like about her team heading into the tournament?
“I like our team’s resilience,” Harris said. “I think we bounce back really well, I think our team has some toughness, so weâll put all that together and take it on the road to Connecticut and put our best foot forward.”
Auburn’s leading scorer, Honesty Scott-Grayson, finally gets to dance in her last dance.
“I am really excited for that,” Harris said. “Honesty, this is what she came back for. She wanted to help get this team back to the tournament where she felt like it should be.”
Not to mention the rest of the seniors that helped this program back to its first appearance in five seasons.
“Iâm just really grateful for [Scott-Grayson], for [JaMya Mingo-Young], for Carsen (McFadden), all those kids coming in, for Taylen (Collins) coming in, buying into a system, to a program,” Harris said. “All those kids have been leaders, they have led this team and that is why weâre here right now.”