Auburn Sports Report: January 6

Auburn Third Baseman Kasey Cooper taking a swing against UCLA in the 2016 Women's College World Series

(Photo: Auburn Athletics)

>>Auburn Women’s Basketball hosted #5 South Carolina on Thursday inside Auburn Arena. The Gamecocks early performance, led by Kaela Davis, was enough to rout Auburn, 73-47. Davis recorded 19 points, 9 of those coming from beyond the arc as South Carolina ended the first quarter with a 29-6 lead over Auburn. Even with solid second and third quarter performances, Auburn could overcome the 23-point first quarter Carolina lead. Senior Katie Frerking led the team in scoring with 16, Jazmine Jones had eight points and eight rebounds in the loss. Auburn Women’s basketball falls to 11-5, 1-1 in SEC play. The Tigers will look to bounce back on Sunday, as they host the Ole Miss Rebels at Auburn Arena at 3 P.M. >>In soccer news, goalkeeper Alyse Scott was named to the SEC Community Service Team on Friday, as announced by the league office in Birmingham. According to the press release, Scott has volunteered at campus kitchens, Habitat for Humanity, and also became involved in Camp iCare, which worked with the familiar Schmid Elementary School in Chicago. This is the third time that Scott has been named to the team, which is also the third time in conference history that a student-athlete from one sport has been recognized by the SEC in that manner. >> Team USA Softball held its’ annual Selection Camp this week in Clearwater, Florida, and third baseman Kasey Cooper accepted the invite to compete. For the second year in a row, the Dothan native made the final cut and has earned a spot on the Women’s National Team roster. By earning one of 20 spots on the team, Cooper will compete in the World Cup of Softball that will be held in July in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, as well as take part in the Pan-American Games World Championship Qualifier. Training for those events begins in June. Earlier this week, it was announced that freshman Alyssa Rivera and Auburn signee Taylon Snow made the first cut in the journey of becoming members of the Junior Women’s National Team. >> Auburn Gymnastics opens the regular season Friday night at Auburn Arena against Oregon State at 7:00 P.M. Auburn Gymnastics opens the season ranked 8th nationally, which is the highest in program history. Coach Jeff Graba’s squad is young, but return key gymnasts in Kelsey Kopec, MJ Rott, Kullen Hlawek, and Abby Milliet. #8 Auburn Gymnastics hosts #13 Oregon State inside Auburn Arena at 7 P.M. Friday night. >> Men’s Basketball looks to pick up their first win of the SEC slate this Saturday as they host the Ole Miss Rebels at Auburn Arena. The Tigers fell to Vanderbilt on Wednesday at Memorial Gymnasium, 80-61, moving their record to 10-4 overall, 0-2 in SEC play. The Commodores jumped out to an early 21-2 lead early in the contest, and Auburn could not overcome the strong play of Matthew Fisher-Davis, who had seven three-pointers en route to a 33-point performance. Jared Harper led Auburn in scoring with 19, while Mustapha Heron had 13. Ole Miss, like Auburn, enters the game with a 0-2 record in the SEC. However, the Rebels two losses have come to projected tournament teams in Florida and Kentucky. The player to watch is forward Sebastian Saiz. The senior averages a double-double in every contest (15.7 points, 12.2 rebounds). He ranks third nationally in rebounds, and his six double-doubles is good enough for first in the SEC and is sixth in the nation. Over the last 13 games, Saiz has averaged 16.5 points and 12.9 rebounds. Auburn Basketball hosts Ole Miss Saturday at 5:00 P.M. inside Auburn Arena.