After being outscored 26-6 in the first quarter, the Auburn Women's basketball team struggled to complete the comeback against #2 South Carolina at home. In their past ten matchups, the Gamecocks have had Auburn's number every time making tonight their 11th consecutive victory against the home team. Despite being lead by Redshirt Sophomore Honesty Scott-Grayson shooting 6/14 from the field totaling 15 points, the Tigers now drop to 5-12 on the season losing 77-58.
Auburn had a tough time scoring baskets early in tonight's match taking 21 shots and only converting on two. This has been a challenge most of the season for Coach Flo's Tigers as many efforts are tallied too late. Following first quarter struggles, Auburn's shooting percentage improved from 9.5% to 47% over the next three. Going up against one of the best defenses in Division I basketball, there's a lot to learn from tonight's performance. The second half of the ball game saw a new Auburn team outscoring the second best team in the country 40-30. The key for the Tigers is consistency; finding their rhythm early is a must and you cant expect to win many games otherwise.
For the visiting Gamecocks, it was a very shared effort across the board having four players in double digits. Led by Zia Cook with 17 points, she averaged exactly one basket per quarter on three shots (excluding FT's). Great teams know how to use their bench to their advantage and South Carolina tallied 25 points from their secondary. Despite the lopsided score, the Tigers experienced what makes up a great team. With only one senior on a young inexperienced Auburn roster, the program will only be going up from here. Auburn had ten players on the scoring sheet tonight recording points and with each passing game, Coach Flo can only feel more comfortable with the future she gets to work with.
This Sunday, Auburn Women's Basketball hosts a two win Missouri team at noon originally scheduled for Jan. 10 but postponed due to COVID-19 issues. The game can be seen on SEC Network and listened to on WQSI 93.9FM.
