According to Webster's dictionary, dominant means commanding, controlling, or prevailing over all others
Dominant is perhaps the best way to describe the Auburn Tigers' (6-2) win over the UCF Knights (6-1). A Game that saw the Tigers lead for all but two minutes and 10 seconds, also gave Honesty Scott-Grayson her fourth consecutive 20-point game in the 86-46 win.
Although UCF’s Rachel Ranke achieved first blood, a 6-0 run gave Auburn a lead that would not be changed throughout the duration of the match. With four out of the six coming from Aicha Coulibaly.
Coulibaly would help immensely for the Tigers turning in her second double-double of the season, with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
She was also the team’s leading rebounder with those 12, helping Auburn reach 51 tying their most this season when the team fell to Georgia Tech earlier in the year.
"That was another challenge for them because we hadn't been rebounding well, and (Little Rock) out-rebounded us, so I challenged them,” said head coach Johnnie Harris. “We sent three people to the board and we had one going to the free-throw line to get anything loose."
Head coach Johnnie Harris made her return to Neville Arena after being out the previous game against Little Rock. “I was about to come through the phone because I didn’t think we were playing hard,” said Harris about the Little Rock game “I just let them know what it looked like me looking at it on TV”
The leading scorer for the Tigers was Honesty Scott-Grayson who put up 22 for her fourth consecutive game with 20 points or more and went 3-3 beyond the arc including one with just seven minutes left to go making it 72-36, that all put secured the Auburn victory.
"It just means I'm growing," said Honesty Scott-Grayson about her fourth consecutive game scoring 20.
Auburn’s defense was also a heavy factor in the Tiger's victory, forcing 18 turnovers and profiting with 26 points off those turnovers. Auburn also held UCF to 22% shooting from the field.
“Hopefully we will grow from it,” coach Harris said when asked how the defensive dominance will bleed into their next couple of games. “It made it harder for them for them to create anything because they had zero assists today.”
The total of 46 points is the lowest an opponent has scored against the Tigers this season.
Points leader for the Knights was Laila Jewett with nine. This season is also UCF’s head coach Sytia Messer’s first season in Central Florida, with this loss being her first as a Knight.
The 40-point victory is the largest margin of victory for the Tigers this season.
"We came out and imposed our will. I don't think they played well enough in our last game, and so we challenged them to do that," said Harris.
Auburn will have to wait a full eight days before playing again. “We have finals, so we'll have a couple days off to study and get healthy, get some treatment in,” said Harris when asked what the plan was about the extended break.
That eight-day wait will be ended with a date with the Ragin Cajuns of Louisiana inside Neville Arena on December 11th at 2:00 pm.
