Auburn drop sixth straight game, falls to Texas

Coming into this game winless in SEC play so far this season, Auburn wanted to come out aggressive; and they did, but not necessarily the way Coach Harris imagined. The Tigers committed 13 personal fouls in the first half and finished with 24 at the end of the game. Mar’shaun Bostic fouled out. Oyi Akinbolawa and Deyona Gaston committed four fouls each which led to them spending extended periods on the bench as a result.  

Coach Harris echoed this postgame, “You know we are going to have to do a better job of playing without fouling,” regarding their first half performance. 

The Longhorns took advantage of their trips to the free throw line going 14-15 from the charity stripe in the first half. Malik Booker alone scored 7-7 free throws in the first half while Auburn as a team went 3-4. Outside of Booker, Rori Harmon and Taylor Jones had successful first halves scoring 9 and 10 respectively. 

However, the Auburn Tigers did not give up and performed exceptionally in the second half outscoring the number five offense 34-30. 

Deyona Gaston led the way after the halftime horn for the Tigers scoring 14 of her 18 points on 6-7 shooting reminding her former teammates why she is one of the best scorers in the SEC.

Mar’Shaun Bostic also had a great second half scoring 9 and also added 5 assists and three steals. Postgame Coach Harris talked positively about Bostic, complimenting for fast, pass first style of play.

While Auburn did start the 4th quarter strong with a 9-0 run, two minutes in the Texas lead was just too much to overcome, leading to their sixth consecutive loss including all 5 SEC matchups. 

Coach Harris commented on their early SEC struggles saying, “the mindset is we have to win, but it is not going to be given, it has to be earned.”

Auburn will have the opportunity to earn that coveted first conference win on Sunday when Missouri travels to Neville arena for a 2 p.m. tipoff. That game will be broadcast on SECN+ and on the Auburn Sports Network.