The crowd was the loud, the band was playing at its best. Everyone was waiting for one moment. Honesty Scott-Grayson would show off her best spin move and battle against two defenders to draw the foul. She would step to the line; Neville Arena drew silent to the point a pen dropping could be heard throughout the building. Scott-Grayson would shoot and make the free throw. The moment everyone had been waiting for, Scott-Grayson’s 31st point of the night, a new career high. The senior would captivate all eyes in the arena with her play as she led the Tigers to a 79-63 win over North Carolina A&T for their fifth straight victory.
A hard fought back and forth first half ultimately saw the Tigers take the lead going into halftime, but it would not come without its struggles. Despite starting the second quarter on a 9-0 run, Auburn would finish the half in a slump only making one of their last eight shots.
Unlike the offensive woes near the end of the first half, the Tigers were clinical on the defensive side of the ball. The Tigers would force the Aggies into 27 turnovers, 13 of which were steals. Auburn turned those turnovers into 29 points, but head coach Jonnie Harris was not satisfied with the result of those turnovers.
“If you are forcing 27 turnovers you should have more than 29 points off turnovers,” Harris said. “We have to capitalize off of that and the turnovers that we forced.”
The story of the night would be Honesty Scott-Grayson. The senior would have a career-high 31 points while shooting 10-18. It started out early for the guard as she would secure 11 of her points in the first 10 minutes of the game. Despite cooling off in the fourth quarter, where she only scored one point, Scott-Grayson showed her versatility while securing a pair of steals on the defensive end that would lead to a couple of assists on the offensive end.
"I was poised," Scott-Grayson said. "I let the game come to me. My teammates put me in good positions to get those buckets so I give credit to them."
Auburn would not give North Carolina A&T the lead once throughout the game. The Tigers were most dominate midway through the third quarter where they grew the lead to biggest of the game at 29 points, which was the result of scoring 31 points in the quarter.
“I thought we were moving the ball,” Harris said. “We were getting our shooters good shots in good spots.”
Rebounds would continue to be an issue for the Tigers. North Caroline A&T would secure 44 rebounds, 14 of which were offensive. The struggles would be most notable late on as the Aggies were able to coral eight of their offensive rebounds in the final quarter of play.
“I was not happy with the fact we got outrebounded,” Harris said. “I thought there were times when we boxed out, but we just didn’t jump to get the rebound and they jumped over our backs.”
Auburn was able to secure the victory without a few key players, as Jakayla Johnson and team leading scorer Aicha Coulibaly would both miss the contest due to injuries. Johnson is battling an ankle injury and is considered day-to-day, while Coulibaly is dealing with a knee issue that will cause her to “probably be out a few days,” according to coach Harris.
Despite the absences, Sydney Shaw would fill the void like nothing ever happened. The freshman would finish with 14 points, five assists and three rebounds. In addition, Shaw would finish her night with the best plus minus on the team at plus 27.
"I was happy with the shot selection I took," Shaw said. "I was able to see the hot hand and put my teammates in good position to score and having a game where I'm not forcing anything, just taking what the game gives me."
Auburn will be back in action this Sunday as they host Samford at Neville Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcasted on the SEC Network.
