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9 hours ago Auburn Athletics
AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn’s familiar formula – turnovers and transition – carried the Tigers to a 57-41 victory over Texas A&M on a record-setting Sunday at Neville Arena.
“A good team effort on our part,” Auburn coach Johnnie Harris said. “Our team was really tough to hold them to 41 points and to outrebound (41-30) that team. For our kids to battle and be tough, it was a good, tough physical battle. Our team has been getting better which is why we’re able to have a chance of winning games like this.”
With 3,760 in attendance, Auburn broke the program’s season record, which now stands at 52,351, with one home game remaining. “That’s really special,” Harris said. “We’re building this program. We’re a long way from where we were and we’re still a long way from where we want to be. You’re looking at people who love Auburn. They love Auburn and they love representing Auburn. The fans recognize that.”
The Tigers forced 29 turnovers, just two shy of the program record of 31 set in 2013 vs. Mississippi State, leading to a 22-10 advantage in points off turnovers. Auburn outscored the Aggies 18-5 in fastbreak points, tallying nearly a third of its points in transition.
Taylen Collins, JaMya Mingo-Young and Sydney Shaw each scored 10 points to lead the Tigers. Honesty Scott-Grayson added nine points and Kaitlyn Duhon scored eight. Auburn limited all of Texas A&M’s scorers to single digits, holding the Aggies to their lowest point total of the season.
“Our coaches put a lot of emphaisis on how important it was going to be to grab boards,” said Collins, who shared the game lead in rebounds with Scott-Grayson with seven. “I put it in my mind going into the game that that’s what I was going to do. I was glad that we outrebounded them.”
Auburn’s 16th win and fifth SEC victory surpassed last season’s totals in both categories.
Taking a seven-point lead into the second half, Auburn built a double-digit lead thanks to Savannah Scott’s offensive rebounding prowess. Scott grabbed five offensive rebounds in the quarter and scored on a pair of putbacks.
Shaw beat the shot clock with a contested 3-pointer off a baseline out-of-bounds play with 1:01 to play in the quarter.
Shaw hit another huge 3 early in the fourth quarter, fading away from the corner near Auburn’s bench, to give her team its biggest lead to that point at 39-26.
“I’ve got a little bit of space, I’m going to shoot it,” Shaw said of her mindset. “And it went in, so I’m going to keep doing that.”
The Aggies pulled within eight midway through the quarter but Auburn made 10 of 10 free throws down the stretch and got three straight late-clock baskets from Bostic, Shaw and Mingo-Young to win by 16.
Duhon accounted for all of Auburn’s offense in the first quarter, converting three steals into layups. Texas A&M scored nine unanswered points while the Tigers missed eight consecutive shots to lead 10-6 after the opening quarter.
Auburn turned up the heat in the second quarter, forcing 12 turnovers and outscoring the Aggies 17-6 to take a seven-point halftime lead.
The Tigers converted Texas A&M’s 18 first-half turnovers into 15 points and enjoyed a 12-2 edge in fastbreak points.
After missing her first seven shots, Scott-Grayson’s 3-pointer gave Auburn a 17-14 lead.
Scott-Grayson hit a floater in the final minute of the half to give the Tigers a 23-16 halftime lead.
Auburn (17-10, 6-8) remains at Neville Arena, where the Tigers are 13-3 this season, hosting Mississippi State Thursday at 7 p.m. CT on Senior Night.
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