AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn Women’s Basketball played host to the No. 7 Texas Longhorns Thursday on the Plains in a contest that saw the Tigers fall 57-74 to the Longhorns. However, there is reason for optimism in Auburn, largely thanks to the arrival of Chinese star Yuting Deng.
Deng, a former member of China’s U18 FIBA Asia Cup team, signed with Auburn in November of 2024, but just arrived on campus earlier this week. The guard from China’s Hunan Province was ranked as the country’s 27th-best player, and was a headliner of Auburn’s most recent recruiting class.
Deng played just six minutes vs the Longhorns on Thursday, but the former FIBA 3X3 star is still acclimating to both NCAA basketball and a new country. Auburn Head Coach Johnnie Harris expects Deng to be able to adjust.
“She’s been really good in practice, and she hits shots,” Coach Harris said. “So I think once she gets settled in a little bit, you’ll see the true Yuting.”
In her six minutes on the court vs Texas, Deng attempted two shots, both from three-point range, and missed both. However, the seventh-ranked team in the country is hardly an easy task for a first game, and Deng is still learning the Tigers’ system, something else that Coach Harris mentioned.
“She’s learning a lot and has had a lot thrown at her the last couple of days,” Coach Harris said. “So we’ll give her some grace and give her a little time. But she works extremely hard. She’ll bounce back.”
Deng, as well as the rest of the Auburn squad, will certainly need that bounceback. The loss to Texas knocked the Tigers down to 0-5 in SEC play, tied for last with a Missouri team that Auburn will host Sunday in Neville Arena.
However, the Tigers played with an intensity vs the Longhorns that is rarely seen from teams that have given up on a season. These Tigers have fight left in them, and with a sidelined Taliah Scott hurting the offense, Deng might just be the catalyst this group needs.
