Auburn (16-10,5-8) fell just short in their upset bid against LSU (23-4,10-3) in Baton Rouge. The Blue & Orange were within two points after the first quarter and fell eight short in the second quarter leading to a 10-point halftime deficit. The Tigers came out hot in the third winning that quarter by one and winning the fourth by four. The Tigers' efforts seemed to be too little too late as their second chance at foiling LSU was a mere 5 points short.
Auburn shot at a high clip tonight posting 37.5% from beyond the arc on 16 shots, an area where the Tigers normally show lower attempts. They shot 43.7% from the field enough to keep them competitive in the game allowing them to threaten late in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers had nine players play double-figure minutes in the loss, a stat that surely allowed them to stay in this game and make a late push posting 19 and 17 in each of the second-half quarters.
“I thought they played really tough,” Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said “there were times they could’ve folded…I have kids that haven’t been in this environment for them to stay in there and weather the storm…I was really pleased by that.”
Honesty Scott-Grayson was the player of the game for Auburn as she once again showed what she means to the Auburn squad. Scott-Grayson shot 10-23 from the field and 5-8 from three on her way to an efficient 28-point performance while only shooting five free throws showing her ability to create shots from open play. She also showed how she can affect the game without scoring and recording four rebounds.
"Honesty is cat quick, and her change of direction is really good,” Harris had to say. “I just put her in a position to do what she does best."
Auburn had 10 steals on the night creating points, led by Scott-Grayson and Taylen Collins who each had three. Auburn generated 23 points off of turnovers on 23 turnovers from LSU. Once again the Tigers’ fast and aggressive play style benefited them keeping them in a difficult game.
"It wasn't just for this game,” Coach Harris said. “That's how we play...that's just who we are."
Angel Reece was undeniably the highlight of the game as she put up an impressive 8-13 from the field on her way to 25 points. She completed her second double-double against Auburn this season with a game-high 20 rebounds in 40 minutes of work.
JaMya Mingo-Young led Auburn with six rebounds. The team had only 28 as a whole against the 42 from the Tigers of LSU. Auburn had 11 offensive rebounds to lead to seven second-chance points compared to LSu who also had 11 offensive rebounds but was able to get 12 second-chance points.
Auburn will be back in action Sunday afternoon as they host the Texas A&M Aggies for a 2 p.m.tipoff inside Neville Arena. The game will be streaming on ESPN as well as the Auburn Sports Network.
