AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn guard Sira Thienou will miss the upcoming women's basketball season after tearing a knee ligament during training.
Thienou, a 6-foot-2 junior from Mali and one of six transfers who joined the Tigers during the offseason, announced the news in a social media post. She played the past two seasons at Southeastern Conference foe Mississippi.
“Coming to Auburn, I was so excited for this new chapter and everything this season was going to bring," she wrote. "I couldn’t wait to step on the court, compete and show the Auburn Family who I am as a player and a person. Unfortunately, God has a different plan for me, and my season has come to an early end after tearing my ACL.”
Thienou started 29 games for the Rebels last season, averaging 9.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists. She scored in double figures 11 times and was instrumental in Ole Miss making the NCAA Tournament.
Auburn, meanwhile, finished 15-17 last season and missed the postseason. Thienou’s explosiveness was expected to boost Auburn’s lackluster offense, which ranked last in the SEC in 2025-26.
The Tigers open the regular season against Alabama State on Nov. 2.
Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here
FILE - Mississippi guard Sira Thienou dribbles the ball during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Minnesota, March 22, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn, File)
SMITHS GROVE, Ky. (AP) — A man has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a Kentucky state trooper during a traffic stop on a highway Monday afternoon, officials said.
Trooper Hayden Phillips, 30, was shot when he pulled over a vehicle on Interstate 65 in Warren County, Col. Phillip Burnett Jr., commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, said during a news conference.
The vehicle left the scene, and after a brief search, law enforcement found it and the suspect about 94 miles (151 kilometers) northeast in Jefferson County, he said. Police in Louisville caught the suspect, a 51-year-old man from Portland, Tennessee.
Kyle Bumgarner, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, described it as a “routine traffic stop" and said officials responded within minutes of the shooting.
The suspect will be transported back to Warren County and face state murder charges, he said.
“This is among, if not among, it is the most heinous crime that can be committed in our commonwealth,” Bumgarner said. "One of our own was gunned down and murdered on the side of the road.”
Officials didn’t say why the trooper pulled the man over, how the shooting unfolded and whether the suspect has a criminal record.
Phillips had been at the agency for three years and was based out of Bowling Green in south-central Kentucky. He was a husband and father of three.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called Phillips “a hero who dedicated himself to protecting our commonwealth.”
This undated photo provided by Kentucky State Police Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, shows Kentucky State Police Trooper Hayden Phillips. (Kentucky State Police via AP)
