AUBURN, Ala. (EETV)- Auburn was defeated at home, 77-83, by the No. 19 Florida Gators. The Tigers have lost four straight since their win over the Volunteers and fall to 9-14 on the season.
The Tigers put in a strong first half display and only trailed the Gators by three going into halftime. Both teams showed an ability to score from beyond the arc when it was needed. The good display continued from both sides as they swapped leads for most of the third quarter.
The visitors began to show their strength going into the fourth quarter where they raced out to a 14-point lead and wouldn’t look back.
The Tigers standout performer on the night was Honesty Scott-Grayson. The guard out of New Jersey pulled in 10 rebounds on the night and added 21 points.
Sania Wells, Aicha Coulibaly and Annie Hughes were also in double digits for the team. The Gators were led by forward Zipporah Broughton who scored 18 and grabbed six rebounds.
Foul trouble hurt Coach Harris’s team as the Gators shot 18-22 from the line. Assistant Coach Bob Starkey explained that’s not an excuse. “Whoever comes in has to be ready to play—and we put them at the line too much,” Starkey said.
Auburn had five players get to at least four fouls. Hughes was the only starter who did not reach that mark. Scott-Grayson, the Tigers leading scorer on the night, fouled out of the game.
Coulibaly picked up her fourth foul three minutes into the third quarter. The sophomore only played 24 minutes in the loss and scored less than 20 points for the first time in three games.
Head Coach Johnnie Harris was asked about what went wrong tonight for her team and she put the loss down to mistakes. “There were too many mistakes, letting them get to the rim and putting them at the foul line,” she explained.
Auburn will hit the road to try and get back to winning ways in Columbia, South Carolina. The Tigers will tip off in the Colonial Life Center at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday.
