Layup Line
¦ Georgia Southern opens its 41st season of women's basketball Nov. 9, when they travel to Auburn for 7 p.m. (Eastern) contest.
¦ The Eagles open on the road for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign when they started the season at Georgia.
¦ The Eagles are 23-17 all-time in season openers but have lost the last three.
¦ Georgia Southern returns nine letterwinners and four starters, including three of their top-4 scorers, from last season's 8-23 team.
¦ The Eagles were picked eighth in the Southern Conference Preseason Coaches Poll and seventh in the league's media poll.
¦ MiMi DuBose and Anna Claire Knight averaged double figures in the scoring column a season ago. DuBose averaged 12.4 points a game, while Knight averaged 11.7 points and 5.9 rebounds a game.
¦ DuBose (140) is third in all-time 3-pointers at Georgia Southern, 27 away from first, held by Svetlana Trjeskal (1995-99). The senior is 139 points away from 1,000 for her career.
¦ The Eagles went 4-4 in their last eight games of 2012-13 and won a contest in the SoCon Tournament for the first time since 2010. The Eagles averaged 58.9 points during the stretch and shot over 45 percent in three contests, including a season-high 51.2 percent against Western Carolina in the SoCon Tournament.
¦ Auburn is coming off a 19-15 season that came to an end in the Women's NIT quarterfinals.
¦ The Tigers return six letterwinners and three starters, including leading scorers Tyrese Tanner (14.2 ppg) and Hasina Muhammad (14.0 ppg).
¦ Muhammad was named second-team Preseason All-SEC, and the Tigers were picked eighth of 14 squads in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll.

Series History
¦ Auburn leads the all-time series, which began in 1977, 4-1, and have won the last four.
¦ This will be the fourth meeting at Auburn.
¦ The Tigers won the last match-up 62-56 Nov. 24, 2009.

Preseason Honors
¦ Georgia Southern was picked to finish eighth in the Southern Conference Preseason Coaches Poll and seventh in the Media Poll.
¦ MiMi DuBose was selected preseason all-league by the coaches. The media does not vote for a preseason all-conference team.
¦ DuBose and Anna Claire Knight were picked Preseason All-SoCon by College Sports Madness.

The 2013-14 Schedule
¦ A total of five squads on the schedule played in the NCAA Tournament or WNIT a season ago.
¦ Kentucky advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, while Auburn won its way to the round of eight in the WNIT.
¦ Southern Conference opponents Chattanooga (NCAA Tournament), Davidson (WNIT) and Appalachian State (WNIT) also advanced to the postseason.
¦ Georgia Southern will play Kentucky, Cal State Northridge, Eastern Illinois and North Florida for the first time.
¦ The Eagles will also face either Detroit or Rhode Island for the first time in the second day of the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament.

Captains
¦ MiMi DuBose, Jordi Cook and Briana Jones are the team captains this season.

Happy 40th
¦ This is the 40th anniversary of women's basketball at Georgia Southern.
¦ The Eagles began competition in the 1973-74 season.

Next Up
¦ The Eagles travel to No. 7 Kentucky next Wednesday.