AUBURN, Ala. – An 18-point night from Aicha Coulibaly and outscoring the Aggies by 12 in the final quarter helps the Tigers snap a three-game skid and beat Texas A&M for the first time in program history.
The Auburn Tigers (14-11, 4-9 SEC) knocked off the Texas A&M Aggies (6-17, 1-12 SEC) 65-55 in the annual Play4Kay Pink Game.
"It was a good, much-needed win for us," said Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris. "We felt like we let a couple of games slip away and it's been really tough. The last three games we've been injured and we've had players out. So we we're able to get our whole team back."
Auburn shot 22-48 (45.8%) from the field, 3-12 (25%) from three-point range and 18-30 (60%) from the free-throw line.
Coulibaly led Auburn in scoring with 18 points and in rebounds with nine, but three other Tigers posted double-figures as well. Sania Wells scored 13 points, and Kharyssa Richardson and Honesty Scott-Grayson both had 12 points. Romi Levy led the Tigers in assists with four.
"I still have a lot of work to do," Coulibaly said. "I've had a lot of 18-point games, I feel like I could do better to help my team out with the scoring."
Texas A&M shot 19-50 (38%) from the field, 3-12 (25%) from three-point range and 14-21 (66.7%) from the free-throw line.
Janiah Barker led Texas A&M in scoring with 16 points. Tiny Hylton led the Aggies in assists with three. Barker and Sahara Jones led the team in rebounds with seven a piece.
Turnovers were a deciding factor in this one as the Tigers forced 29 turnovers and earned 24 points from them. The Aggies forced 22 turnovers and earned 20 points from them.
Getting the ball inside was a focus for both teams as Auburn scored 28 points in the paint and Texas A&M scored 24. Depth also played a role as the Tigers had 19 points from the bench and the Aggies had 18.
A major factor that went a long way toward helping the Tigers take control late in the game was Wells shooting 10-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
"My free-throw percentage wasn't the best at the beginning of the season," Wells said. "We've been doing a lot of pressure free throws in practice and that's been helping. I just felt like last year I had a good percentage, I can bring that back up. I don't know what was wrong with me at the beginning of the season."
Auburn will be back in action on Sunday when the Tigers travel up to Knoxville for a match-up with the Tennessee Volunteers. Tip-off is set for 11:00 a.m. CT.
