The Auburn women’s basketball team (3-5) opens a three-city, eight-day road trip when it tips off against George Washington (5-4) at 6 p.m. at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C.

The Tigers will then play Saturday against Purdue in Indianapolis, before wrapping up with in the Windy City against Chicago State on Dec. 21.

A long trip, indeed, but one head coach Nell Fortner is looking forward to.

“I really enjoyed our trip to Bahamas — we were gone for a solid week and it was a great experience with the team,” said Fortner. “We have a team that is really easy to travel with and they handle themselves so well, they are really fun to be around.

“I am really looking forward to going back on the road with them. Hopefully, we will find some success on the road, make ourselves tough and get ready for the conference season coming up.”

Today’s game will be Auburn’s first since a 62-61 loss to Temple on Dec. 4 with the Tigers being on break for final exams the last 10 days. While the team has not been playing games, there has not been much of a break from the practice courts.

“We have tried to take advantage of the long break practice-wise, trying to get better as a team and continuing to work on ourselves,” said Fortner. “Hopefully, we will be able to see some benefit of that. We are now playing with no classes and that takes a lot of pressure off their shoulders and, hopefully, we will see some benefit from that as well.”

George Washington has struggled this season with a 5-4 record, but has been dominant on its home court with all five wins coming in the Charles E. Smith Center.

Danni Jackson leads the Colonials, averaging a team-best 10.6 points and 4.6 assists per game. Tara Booker follows with 9.9 points and 5.2 rebounds, while Ivy Abonia pulls down a team-best 7.9 rebounds per game.

The Tigers have lived off their defense this season, averaging 8.9 steals and 3.3 blocks per game. Auburn opponents average 20.6 turnovers per game with the Tigers scoring an average of 21.5 points per game off of turnovers.

Senior Alli Smalley leads the team with 12.8 points per game, followed by Jordan Greenleaf with 9.8 points each and a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game. Sophomores Blanche Alverson and Morgan Toles average 9.4 and 7.8 points, respectively, with Toles also dishing out a team-best 4.3 assists per game.

Auburn (3-5) at George Washington (5-4)
Where: Charles E. Smith Center; Washington, D.C.
When: 6:00 p.m.
Radio/TV: WMXA (96.7 FM)/No TV
Projected starters, Auburn: G Morgan Jennings, 5-8, Jr. (5.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg); G Alli Smalley, 5-8, Sr. (12.8 rpg, 2.3 rpg); G/F Blanche Alverson, 6-3, So. (9.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg); F Jordan Greenleaf, 6-1, Sr. (9.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg); G/F Tyrese Tanner, 6-2, Sr. (3.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
Projected Starters, George Washington: G Tiana Myers, 5-9, Jr. (6.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg); F Brooke Wilson, 6-2, So. (5.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg); Danni Jackson, 5-3, So. (10.6 ppg, 4.6 apg); F Tara Booker, 6-1, Jr. (9.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg); F Ivy Abiona, 6-2, Sr. (5.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg)