AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn overcame the country’s top-ranked team in the second half, but a difficult first period was too much to overcome, as the Tigers dropped to South Carolina’s 2/1 by 77-58 on Thursday night at Auburn Arena.
The Tigers were unable to make much of it fall in the first 15 minutes or so, as South Carolina took advantage of Auburn’s failures and built a big lead in the beginning. But Auburn followed his worst half of shots in the SEC game (19.4%) with his best (53.3%), beating Gamecocks by 10 after the break.
“The first half was difficult”, Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “The first quarter was extremely difficult. And when we’re not hitting the shots, unfortunately it kind of sets the tone for how the rest of the game goes. (South Carolina) loves to push through the transition and they get layups out of the transition. When you is missing shots and then doesn’t go back to defense, that loses points in the painting. “
Scott-Grayson Honesty led Auburn with 15 points and also managed four rebounds. Thompson unique added 10 points and eight rebounds along with three steals that lead the team. AND Romi Levy it was 3 out of 5 in the 3-point interval for a nine-point effort; she also had five rebounds and led Auburn with three assists. Alaina Rice added eight points.
In a disastrous first 14 minutes, Auburn made just two of the first 28 shots with the Gamecocks – which were 14 out of 22 (63.6%) in the same period – led by more than 30 in the middle of the second quarter. But as of 6am in the second half, the Tigers hit 21 of 38 shots (55.3%).
Auburn had his best day of the season taking care of basketball, making a record nine turnovers of the season, while pushing the Gamecocks to 17. The Tigers also hit 7 out of 15 points out of 3 (46.7%), their best percentage so far in SEC game. South Carolina had 51 rebounds against Auburn’s 29 and scored 44 points in the painting for 28 Tigers.
Zia Cooke led South Carolina with 17 points. Aliyah Boston added 14 and Victaria Saxton added 11.
Tigers host Missouri at noon CT on Sunday in a rescheduled January 10 game. Tickets for the original game date will be accepted and are available on AUBTix.com and at the Auburn Arena box office.