NORMAN, Okla. - After a great win last Thursday against Texas A&M, Auburn looked to get their first back-to-back wins in SEC play against Oklahoma. It was a tough task to do against the 16th-ranked Sooners on the road as the Sooners have played their best ball at home, coming into the contest 10-2 at home this year. Auburn had the chance to pull off the upset late behind a 10-point fourth-quarter comeback, but a defensive foul allowed Oklahoma’s Verhulst to clinch the game with free throws, as the Sooners won 73-71.
It was sloppy for both teams early with only seven combined points through the first five minutes of the game; an uncharacteristic stretch for Oklahoma’s offense. Then Oklahoma’s offense started to come alive, scoring seven straight points going into the media timeout and making Auburn try to play catch-up early.
After the media timeout, both teams started to warm up on the offensive end, especially Auburn’s Yuting Deng, going 3-3 from beyond the arc to make it a four-point game at the end of the 1st.
Auburn’s aggressive defense came out great in the second quarter forcing multiple turnovers; something that has plagued Oklahoma all season as they lead the SEC with 19 per game. Even with Auburn’s great defense to start the quarter, Auburn’s offense couldn’t get out of their own way at times, getting cold for long stretches.
For the rest of the quarter, Oklahoma would keep their lead around 10, shooting an efficient 56% from the field. On the other end, freshman Deng continued to be the scoring leader for Auburn even without a second-quarter point, trying to get Auburn back into the game.
Both teams hit some early shots to start the second half but those shots would get more and more rare as the quarter ran on. Combining for 26 turnovers heading into the first second-half media timeout, the offenses became sloppy. Then Auburn started to finally take advantage of those mistakes, bringing the deficit to six with the momentum behind them.
The rest of the third quarter would be back-and-forth offensively with what seemed like a mistake or a basket each time down the court for each team.
To start the fourth quarter, Auburn’s DeYona Gaston finally started getting hot, scoring four straight baskets to make it a one-point game quickly. The Tigers kept feeding Gaston down low, allowing her to slow the game down and keep the ball out of Oklahoma’s hands. The Tigers took their first lead of the game 66-65 within three minutes of the game, riding the hot hand of Gaston on both sides of the court.
It was back and forth the rest of the quarter with the score being tied by Gaston on a free throw with about half a minute left. Then Verhulst got fouled by Bostic on a foul in the lane that gave Oklahoma the perfect opportunity to clinch the game. Verhulst sank both before Gaston had to throw up a potential miracle shot that did not fall.
Auburn will try to keep their fourth-quarter momentum going into Knoxville as they play against No. 15 Tennessee on Thursday. That game will be broadcast on ESPN 106.7 FM and SECN+.
