AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - The Auburn Tigers defeat the Oklahoma State Cowgirls 77-66 in the SEC/Big 12 challenge on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Tigers move to 5-3 and have won three straight.
“I was talking to Jala saying how we just enjoy the feeling of coming in the locker room and not being quiet. So you know, we can get used to that,” stated Sania Wells about the recent wins.
Auburn started the game lights out, going a perfect 6-6 to start the match. The Tigers shot 67% from the field in the first half and were led by Honesty Scott-Grayson who went 7-9 with 15 points.
The Tigers played physical in the paint, out-rebounding the Cowgirls 18 to nine and scoring nine second-chance points in the first half.
The efficient shooting didn't stop in the first half for the Tigers, as they shot 60% on the day which included shooting 43% from beyond the arch.
Oklahoma State did not go down without a fight after Auburn’s dominant first half. The Cowgirls got within two points with 6:04 left in the game after being down by as much as 13 in the first half. But it was too little too late as Auburn went on a 12-6 run to end the game.
Aicha Coulibaly went 9-10 with her first miss not coming until the 1:15 mark in the fourth quarter. The sophomore led the team in points with 25. She added five rebounds, two blocks and three steals.
“We found a mismatch there with Aicha so we kinda switched some things around and they did a good job of running plays to get her the ball where we could explore that mismatch" said coach Johnnie Harris.
Coulibaly wasn’t the only Tiger with over 20 points, Honesty Scott-Grayson finished the game with 22 points on 9-16 shooting. The guard added six rebounds and two assists on offense with two steals on defense.
The SEC leads the SEC/Big 12 challenge all-time with a record of 2-1-4. This includes a 7-1 win in the 2020 challenge.
The Tigers will be back in action in Auburn Arena on Sunday, Dec 12 at 2 p.m CST as they take on the New Orleans Privateers.
