Tarr's Take: Grading the Tigers Opening Night Victory Over Sam Houston

Auburn women's hoops checked off the boxes in their opening night victory over Sam Houston.

Author:
Harrison Tarr
Publish date:
Nov 9, 2022 1:42 PM EST

In this story:

Auburn women’s basketball hit the ground running in the season opening win over Sam Houston on Tuesday night. New faces were introduced to the Tiger faithful, household names continued to remind the world of their importance to the program and coach Johnnie Harris proved that her brand of basketball is here to stay.

Here’s the orange and blue’s report card following the convincing win:

Shooting/Shot Selection: A -

From the impressive shooting display of Sydney Shaw to the routinely-strong performance by Aicha Coulibaly, Auburn proved that this year’s group is going to keep defenses honest throughout the duration of the year. Shaw and company shot an impressive 46.5 percent from the field against the BearKats, with an encouraging amount of takes from freshmen.

Overall Offense: B +

In large, this group got the job done on the offensive end of the floor. Honesty Scott-Grayson was cooking, Sania Wells reminded everyone how good she is at getting to the charity stripe and the integrated young talent seemed to fit the system as well as one could expect in their first career games. It’s also worth noting that Auburn shot 80 percent from the free throw line on 25 attempts.

That being said, coach J’s squad turned over the ball much too frequently to be worthy of an ‘A’ grade performance. Careless mistakes in the early second quarter led to an eventual total of 23 turnovers, leaving much to be desired against an opponent of Sam Houston’s caliber.

Rebounding: B -

To put things simply, Auburn didn’t grab the amount of rebounds coach Harris wants her team to come down with on a nightly basis. Granted, the absence of Romi Levy certainly played a large role in the loss in the battle of the glass and Sam Houston certainly had packages with respectable height; however, the Auburn staff will likely be emphasizing the fundamentals of boxing out in the coming weeks.

Overall Defense: A

Any coach J defensive scheme is going to be impressive and this year’s group certainly fits the bill. Consistent pressure both on and off-ball, smooth transitions between multiple schemes, backcourt help from guards of all experience levels, this team has a high defensive upside and showed it on Tuesday evening.

Forcing 44 turnovers was an eye-popping metric; Auburn’s guards refused to let the BearKats get comfortable.

Depth: A

For the first time in several years, the Tigers have true depth coming off of the bench. The additions – and instant ability to contribute – of freshmen such as Shaw, Kaitlyn Duhon, Khryssa Richardson and Mya Pratcher blended beautifully with returning talent. Despite being undersized in some rotations, this group complimented one another on both ends of the floor.

Looking ahead

It’s important to keep in mind that the Tigers were without standout juniors Romi Levy and Precious Johnson in the contest, meaning the group's rotations are not yet set in stone; the pair are likely return to action on Thursday night when Auburn takes on South Alabama inside Neville Arena at 7 p.m. CT on SECN+ and the Auburn Radio Network.