Shorthanded Tigers Trampled by No. 1 South Carolina
There is an extensive amount of parity in today's world of women's college hoops. In large, teams from all conferences and locations can assemble competitive squads that can challenge one another on a routine basis; unfortunately for coach Johnnie Harris and the Auburn Tigers, the orange and blue went head-to-head with the sport's clear exception on Thursday night.
Auburn was flat-out dominated by Dawn Staley and the top-ranked, defending champion South Carolina Gamecocks, losing 94-42.
From the moment the ball was tipped inside of Colonel Life Arena, it was clear that Staley's gamecocks were determined to impose their will on the Tigers; Auburn allowed its opponent out on a 12-2 run in the opening minutes, effectively digging itself into an insurmountable hole in the early going.
Despite efforts from coach J's squad to kill momentum, the Gamecocks were nowhere near done proving their point, keeping their foot on the gas and — quite simply — bullying the Tigers on the offensive end of the floor.
South Carolina entered the halftime intermission leading the Tigers 52-20; Auburn's top scorer was junior Aicha Coulibaly with eight.
For both squads, the final 20 minutes had an uncanny resemblance to the first. From the opening in-bound until the final buzzer, the likes of Aliyah Boston, Victaria Saxton and Kierra Fletcher continued to present a force that Harris' group was unable to contain.
South Carolina's standout trio combined for 32 points on the evening.
The continued absence of redshirt senior Honesty Scott-Grayson was certainly a major blow for the orange and blue yet again; the group has yet to have the team scoring leader and floor general cleared for competition in the young SEC season.
Auburn will put this game soundly in its rear view mirror, take to the film room and get back in the gym to prepare for yet another daunting SEC test: a clash with the Crimson Tide of Alabama at Neville Arena. The first installment of the 2023 women's hoops Iron Bowl will tip-off at 4 p.m. CT on SEC Network and the Auburn radio network.
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