Christmas Break has finally hit the campus of Auburn University, but the Auburn defense was in anything but a giving spirit.
The Auburn Women’s Basketball team (7-2) took on the Lady Ragin Cajuns of Louisiana at 2 p.m. on Sunday inside Neville Arena. This was the fourth matchup all time between the two schools, with Auburn holding a now 4-0 advantage following the 81-41 victory.
The Tigers held the Cajuns to only 29% shooting on 15 of 52 field goals and advocated a great ‘Grinch’ role, collecting 11 steals and 9 blocks. Aicha Coulibaly and Romi Levy led the way for the Tigers on the defensive end with three blocks a piece. The two also combined for 15 of the Tigers 39 team rebounds where 10 different players collected at least one tally in that category.
The Ragin Cajuns ran a condensed zone defense for a majority of the game, which created a lot of open looks for the Tigers outside.
The Tigers hit their season average on three-point shots in the first half, making 5 of 11 attempts. The squad finished with 12 made triples on 54.5% shooting from outside the perimeter. Sydney Shaw (15 pts) and Honesty Scott-Grayson (13 pts) and Sania Wells (10 pts) all finished with three made field goals from behind the arc, and three other Tigers added one deep ball to the list.
“It was really important, and we worked on that”, head coach Johnnie Harris stated in regard to the importance of kickouts and ball reversals to beat the Louisiana zone. “I didn’t think we forced any of (the three-point shots). I have kids that like to be in the gym now… and they are really confident in their shots”, Harris added.
The confidence only escalated after the halftime break as the Tigers started the 2nd half with a 21-3 run lasting the entire third quarter. That run included a 4-6 shooting performance from deep, with each made three coming from a different Tiger.
This marks Auburn’s second straight forty-point victory over an opponent and looks to carry that momentum through the rest of the month before SEC play. The Tigers play again at home in Neville Arena on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. vs North Carolina A&T.
