AUBURN, Ala. - It took a total team effort on Sunday afternoon, but the Auburn Tigers came away with a scrappy 69-62 win over the UAB Blazers.
The performance from Auburn was gritty in every sense of the word. A huge injury list only worsened when they received news that leading scorer DeYona Gaston would be unavailable. For the large majority of the game, coach Johnnie Harris only had seven tigers to choose from.
Gaston joined Arkansas transfer Taliah Scott and Kaitlyn Duhon as consistent contributors who would not see the court. With Savannah Scott and Yakiya Milton both being out since the beginning of the season, Harris was left with little to work with.
True freshman Syriah Daniels, daughter of Auburn legend Marquis Daniels, received the first starting nod of her career and immediately showed she belonged. Her eight first-quarter points set the Tigers off and running.
“I honestly knew that she was going to come out and dominate,” said Taylen Collins of her teammate. “In practice, she never shies away from any challenge. So her having to step up into this position, I just knew she was ready for it.”
Auburn’s fast start was quickly undone, however. It was clear that the undermanned roster was hurting the Tigers as UAB made a big run in the second quarter to take a 35-31 halftime lead.
With limited options on the bench, it was clear that it had to be the group on the floor to get the job done. The most experienced Tiger on the court answered the call, as Collins dominated the game on both ends down the stretch.
“At halftime I challenged her,” Harris said. “We needed her to take over. She has that ability. I thought she was just kind of burdened in the first half and I told her, ‘I need you to take over,’ and I thought she came out and did that.”
Collins received her Auburn career high in playing time, being on the floor for 37 of the game’s 40 minutes. It was pure relief for the graduate student when the final buzzer went off and Auburn added another tally to the win column.
“That was my longest game,” said Collins. “We’ve been battling with what we have. Obviously, we don’t have the full roster, and we’re missing a bunch of key pieces. Each day coach is saying, ‘This is what we have and we’re going to go to battle with that every single day.’”
As Auburn’s two prolific scorers looked on from the bench, the squad had to find other ways to affect the game. In typical coach Harris fashion, the way they found was to create havoc on the defensive end. The Tigers forced 21 Blazer turnovers and grabbed 19 points off of them.
Coach Harris called it “an ugly win,” but one where people stepped up. It would have been easy for the Tigers to get rattled down seven and without two twenty-point scorers, but they found a way to get the job done.
With the depleted roster, a 10-day break between today and the Tigers’ next game is something Harris and company can look forward to. Auburn will be taking the show on the road once again, this time traveling to Lafayette, Louisiana. They will match up with the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns on Dec. 18. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. CT with coverage from the Auburn Sports Network and ESPN+.
