AUBURN, Alabama. (EETV) - The Auburn Tigers dropped their last game of the season in the SEC tournament against in-state rival Alabama.
Auburn played the Crimson Tide close, entering the fourth quarter with a three-point lead over the Tide but were quickly outscored in the final quarter of play. The Tigers were outscored 25-15 in the fourth.
“I’m really proud of how my team battled this season,” Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. “Of course, we didn't end the way we wanted to end, but I felt like they battled. They gave me everything they had. It's a building season, but I thought we got better. We got better and better even though it may not have shown up in the wins and losses, but we have a lot to build on.”
Four Tigers scored double-digit points in the outing. Honesty Scott-Grayson led the team with 13 points, the guard would also add five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Annie Hughes scored 12 in her last game as a Tiger including three baskets from beyond the arch while Sania Wells recorded 10.
Aicha Coulibaly was the last Tiger with double-digit points. Auburn’s leading scorer struggled from the field going 4-14 including 0-2 from three. The Mali native still added five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
In Johnnie Harris’ first year on the plains, the Tigers finished with a record of 10-18 with an SEC record of 2-15. The Tigers defeated three top-25 teams which included a win over the at-the-time No. 4 Tennessee Lady Volunteers.
The win against Tennessee broke a 23 game conference losing streak dating back to the Williams-Flournoy era. The win also came as the first time Auburn had defeated a top-five team in 25 years.
“I feel like we built a foundation,” Harris said of her first year leading the Auburn program. “We tried to put in our philosophy. I think that the kids that are coming back know what we want, so it was -- we were really inexperienced. We had some players that hadn't had any experience playing at this level. We had some with very limited experience playing at this level.
Coach Harris and the Auburn Tigers season might be over but they will look forward to putting work in during the offseason to keep Auburn women’s basketball moving in the right direction.
