Tigers Drop Sixth Consecutive Contest in Harris' Return to Starkville
Auburn women's basketball head coach Johnnie Harris is no stranger to Starkville, Miss. On her coaching journey — which eventually led to her arrival on the Plains — Harris served eight seasons as associate head coach of the Bulldogs, making five NCAA tournament appearances and a pair of national championship berths.
It's safe to say that nobody wanted to capture a road win over Mississippi State more than she did; her squad could not have battled more than they did in the 72-58 loss.
Auburn started the contest off about as poorly as one could expect, quickly falling behind 18-3, failing to get to the charity stripe, and showing little to no signs of life.
At the conclusion of the first period of play, Auburn tallied five total points on a pair of layups and a trip to the line; All the while, Mississippi State shot over 40 percent from the field, boasting a 13-point lead through the first 10 minutes.
The second period proved to be more fruitful for the orange and blue; after collaboratively missing time to this point in SEC play, standout guards Aicha Coulibaly and Honesty Scott-Grayson combined for eight points en route to Auburn's closing of the deficit to just eight points heading to the locker room at half.
Auburn outscored the Bulldogs 13-8 in the second period, heading to the locker room down just 26-18.
Much to the pleasure of the orange and blue faithful, Harris' squad was just getting started. Auburn opened the second half by lighting up the scoreboard, storming back into the game, and grabbing its first lead since the opening minutes behind standout efforts from Coulibaly and freshman forward Kharyssa Richardson.
After outscoring its opponents 29-21, Auburn found itself deadlocked with the Bulldogs at 47 apiece with just 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
Unfortunately for Harris and company, the completed comeback did not ultimately result in the Tigers on top of the scoreboard; Mississippi State returned to the floor with a renewed offensive energy, returning to its familiar north-of-40 percent form from the floor and leaving the orange and blue soundly in its rearview mirror.
Coach J and company will now get back in the gym as the group prepares for its first SEC rematch of the season on Sunday with the red-hot Rebels of Ole Miss, a squad the Tigers fell to in their conference opener. Tipoff between the familiar foes is set for 4 p.m. CT on SEC Network and the Auburn Radio Network.
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