Coach Johnny Harris and Auburn’s women’s basketball program had a Thanksgiving week that was far from normal. Instead of going home for the holidays or inviting their families to the Plains to celebrate, the Tigers flew west to battle it out in the hardwoods at the Las Vegas invitation.
Unfortunately for Orange and Blue fans, Vegas’ luck was not on the young group’s side in their clash with the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers as the Tigers lost 96-81.
The defeat did not result from a lack of effort on the attacking side of the floor. Behind the hot hands of his redshirt senior, Honesty Scott-Grayson, Auburn came out of the gate, fired, and followed the seemingly unstoppable stride of his opponent.
Auburn’s standout guard led the team in both points (15) and rebounds (5) in the first 20 minutes of regulation, helping the team stay in the game despite some great red-and-white shooting displays. seemed to want it.
Coach J’s group followed the Hoosiers 51-39 heading into halftime intermission.
As is often the case with Indiana’s women’s hoops, the Hoosiers renewed their urgency on the offensive floor and returned to the hardwoods with greater confidence to pull the ball out of range, effectively closing out the Tigers and helping defense. was abandoned.
A group of young Auburns were not ready to lie down quietly. The Tigers attack from range at levels the program has not seen in recent memory, shooting more than 45% from the field and more than 40% from the perimeter, and driven by famous players like Scott Grayson and Aisha Koulibaly. Created more space for the bucket.
Despite scoring 44 of Auburn’s 81 points, the Tigers’ efforts weren’t enough to move the group just a stone’s throw from the fifth-place team in the college hoop. The clinic presented, simply put, an insurmountable challenge.
“I was a little disappointed with some of the undisciplined plays we made,” Harris said. “But most of the time I thought the kids fought. That’s what I wanted them to do. I wanted them to fight and give them one last chance, and I wanted them to fight.” thought that did it.
Auburn will have a chance at redemption in Sin City in less than 24 hours when the Tigers take on the Colorado Rams in the final game of the showcase. It’s set for 5:30 PM (CT).
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