AUBURN, ALABAMA (EETV)- Chants of “D-UP, D-UP, D-UP” rained from the stands as Auburn and Georgia battled the final five minutes of the game.
The Jungle made itself heard and Georgia was not able to handle the noise as they could not get shots to fall down the stretch.
Auburn Women’s Basketball was able to pull away at the end and defeat the Bulldogs, 65-60, on Sunday inside Auburn Arena. With the win, Auburn moves to 10-15 on the season and 2-12 in league play.
This is the third ranked team that the Tigers have taken down this season and the second inside Auburn Arena.
“Very happy and proud of the team for how they came out and battled,” said Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris. “Really proud of how they competed. "
Time and time again this season, Auburn had struggled to close out games late. The Tigers had lost seven SEC games in single digits.
On Sunday, the Tigers closed out the game on a 14-2 run over the final eight minutes of game time. Along the way Auburn forced Georgia into six turnovers in that stretch.
“I felt like we were flying around in there,” Harris said. “That was the difference in the fourth quarter.”
Georgia did not score in the final seven minutes of game time going 0-for-11 in that stretch. Auburn forced the Bulldogs into 21 turnovers in the game as a whole.
Offensively, the Tigers were led by the usual duo that has done the bulk of the scoring for them all season. Honesty Scott-Grayson tied her career-high in points with 23 while Coulibaly put 19 points up in the win.
Scott-Grayson went 3-for-4 from beyond the 3-point line in the win and she also managed to pick up five steals as well.
“Honesty set the tone for us offensively and I've been begging her to do that,” Harris said.
Coulibaly put up four points in the first half before coming out in the second and taking the game over. The sophomore picked up 15 of her 19 points in the second half of play. Coulibaly finished her night two rebounds shy of a double-double.
After going 1-for-10 from the 3-point line against No. 1 South Carolina on Thursday, Auburn went 6-for-15 from beyond the arc. This is the fifth time all season that the Tigers have shot above 40% from three.
“Our go-to was going to have to shoot on the perimeter with how big Georgia was,” guard Honesty Scott-Grayson said. “Our guards were prepared and they executed.”
Auburn has picked up its second conference win of the season and its second over a ranked opponent.
“We want to build on this and carry this into practice and then into senior night,” Harris said. “The best is yet to come with this team.”
Auburn will look to close out the season strong when Ole Miss heads to Auburn Arena on Feb. 24 for senior night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 PM CST and will be aired on SEC Network+.
