AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn women’s basketball (12-11) was the tougher team for all 40 minutes in a massive win over Texas A&M (10-12) on Thursday night, 65-52. Auburn turned their tough defense into fast offense as they ran away with the win over the Aggies.
Auburn’s defense was almost airtight in the first quarter, with the Tigers turning A&M over left and right while also making them take tough shots. This defense quickly helped Coach Johnnie Harris’ team get out to an early advantage with a couple of baskets from Taylen Collins, DeYona Gaston and Celia Sumbane. These three were awesome in the first ten, as Auburn went into the first break up 12-8.
If the defense in the first quarter was airtight, the defense in the second quarter was suffocating. Auburn hit their stride in a big way on the defensive side of the ball, disrupting basically everything they tried to run. Texas A&M had fewer shots attempted (8) than turnovers (10) in the second quarter. Auburn used this to secure a 14-point lead at the break, only allowing a total of 14 points for the Aggies. Yuting Deng, Sumbane and Gaston were the spearhead for this run, all scoring four in the quarter as Auburn went to the half up 28-14.
Auburn let off the gas a little on the defensive end in the second half, but the offense found its legs to keep them ahead by double digits. Deng had five in the quarter, hitting Auburn’s lone three of the evening while Gaston did her thing, adding six. Mar’shaun Bostic was also a main factor for the offensive unit in the third, having three assists and four points herself. Auburn kept their foot on the gas and went into the final frame ahead, 47-32.
A similar story to the third happened in the fourth, with Auburn being a little less aggressive defensively. This led to the only quarter that Auburn did not outscore Texas A&M. Janae Kent and Sole Williams were the ones that did the damage, combining for all 20 of the Aggies' fourth-quarter points. Despite their efforts, Auburn did its job in the first three frames, and six points from Gaston, four from Yakiya Milton and a couple of others in the final frame were enough to get the job done as the Tigers won, 65-52.
Auburn was led by Gaston with 18 points on 8-13 shooting. Gaston is the 8th-leading scorer in the nation right now and has been essential to Auburn’s formula this season. Bostic had 10 points while also having her first career double-double with 10 assists. Bostic was only three steals from a triple-double with seven total steals as well. When Bostic was asked about how this moment felt, she stated, “It feels great. Like, last year I had 18 and nine and then, y’all… It felt great because I looked up there and I said ‘Coach, just let me run one more play, one more point,’ and it ended up working out.”
Auburn also forced 21 total turnovers on the night and scored 19 points off the turnovers they forced. Coach Harris commented on how this is all part of the gameplan and what they want to do on a nightly basis, saying “You know, we want to score in transition, and then we want to get a steal and go score again, and then get in the press and go score again.”
Despite the 3-7 record in SEC play, the Tigers are not too far behind in the race for a decent ranking in the conference and maybe a chance to get to the NCAA tournament if they can go on a streak down the stretch. They have now won three straight in Neville Arena, but they need to get hot and win a couple of big games in a tough remaining schedule.
The Auburn women take the court again on Monday, February 10 as they travel to Norman, Oklahoma to play No. 15 Oklahoma. It is their first of three straight matchups against ranked opponents. The game is at 7 p.m. CST and will be live on SEC Network or you can listen to it live on the Auburn Sports Network.
