AUBURN, AL (EETV)- Auburn women's basketball looked for a turnaround on Sunday as they reached the mid-point in SEC play. Holding onto a 1-6 conference record, the Tigers hosted the Florida Gators in Neville Arena for their annual "We Back Pat" game. In support of the Pat Summit Foundation, the team wore special warm-up shirts as a part of the foundation's Alzheimer's awareness efforts.
Coming off of a 40-point loss to Mississippi State, the first quarter on home court proved to be a different pace for this team. With the tipoff in Auburn's favor, DeYona Gaston drove straight to the net for two and opened the steady lead for the Tigers. Attacking the defensive rebounds, a missed Florida jumper put Taylen Collins on the paint with another Auburn score. A 6-0 lead and physical defensive coverage from the Tigers found Florida scrambling to score. A personal foul on Gaston and Collins marked the first four Florida points from free throws alone. Faced with a 3:16 scoring drought, Auburn brought intensity to the hardwood with back-to-back jumpers from Gaston and Sumbane followed by back-to-back scores from Yuting Deng with a jumper and a three pointer. Closing out the first quarter, Daniels extended the Tiger lead to 17-10 on the line with two free throws.
The second quarter featured a 10-0 run over 2:13 for the Tigers.
On the run Gaston stated, "We need to do this more consistently...We felt like a team."
The Tigers were getting comfortable with taking those risks on the three-point line, with Syriah Daniels knocking down one from beyond-the-arc in the second quarter. Celia Sumbane ended the game as the second top scorer for the Tigers with 12 points. Aggressive near the net, a made layup turned into an "and one," for Sumbane, which added a point from the line. On a turnover and with the assist from Bostic, Sumbane scored again for three. With 3:30 left in the second, Auburn went 4-5 on their last five field goal attempts. Getting a glimpse into the grit of this team in the first half, the Tigers never lost their lead, had a 48 FG% and made every free throw at the line. Heading into halftime, the Tigers held a 20-point lead over the Gators with a score of 41-21.
The third quarter started slow, but the Tigers still managed to keep the lead by 19 points as DeYona Gaston opened the quarter for two on a layup. The Tigers scored 15 total points in the third compared to the Gator's 18. Eight of the 15 points scored in this quarter for Auburn were from Gaston. Efforts from Bostic and Collins added a layup and jumper to the total, respectively. On the outside again, Deng shot and scored for three. The Gators trailed the Tigers 39-56.
Overcoming the second half scoring slump, Yuting Deng proved her abilities as an outside shooter, as she claimed her third and fourth three pointers of the game.
When asked on Deng's impact on the team, Gaston stated, "She's a player...Her impact has been really good on us."
Halfway through the fourth, Gaston suffered a minor ankle injury as she limped off the court to seek attention from the athletic training team. Immediately after a quick tape up, she rejoined the team huddle and reappeared back on the court. The team secured their second conference win over the Gators with a final of 74-51.
Head Coach Johnnie Harris discussed how the team had tough practices leading up to this game. In what was called an "embarrassing game," the loss to Mississippi State became a rally cry for the Tigers. Harris stated that "winning is a mentality" and expects "to come out and get better...to build on what we did."
Entering the back half of conference play, the Tigers continue with a road trip to Columbia, South Carolina for a matchup against the No. 2 Gamecocks on February 2nd at 11:00 AM CST.
