AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 13 LSU Women’s Basketball team explodes in the first quarter Sunday afternoon to take down Auburn, 76-48, in Auburn Arena.
After having their 13-game win streak snapped on Thursday against No. 1 South Carolina, the Tigers came out on Sunday at Auburn full of energy to bounce back and improve to 15-2 overall (3-1 in the SEC).
The LSU Tigers started out strong against No. 14 Auburn, scoring a 18 point lead by the end of the first quarter. After Autumn Newby made the first score for the Tigers, Khayla Pointer and Alexis Morris led their team to scoring nine and five points, respectively. Pointer and Morris both were 1-1 on 3-point attempts by the end of the first quarter.
Auburn’s main goal in the first quarter was to slow down LSU, as they only scored 8 points in the first half. Aicha Coulibaly led her team with 4 points and 1 block, with Sania Wells and Annie Hughes not far behind with 2 points. Coulibaly, Wells, and Hughes were the only Auburn Tigers to put scores on the board by the end of the first quarter, no assists were made.
Only one minute into the second quarter, Auburn kicked into gear and quickly scored 4 points; however, LSU still maintained higher field goal percentages, rebound totals, and assists throughout the whole quarter. Pointer continued to score in the second, making today’s matchup the seventh game in a row that she scored double digits in. Faustine Aifuwa also dominated the court, totaling 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 blocks by the end of the period.
Wells continued to maintain points for the Auburn Tigers, adding four of her own baskets to their tally. Honesty Scott-Grayson also fought hard, scoring 5 points and 1 rebound all in the second. Despite their hard effort, Auburn only had a 26.7 scoring percentage, finishing 21-40 LSU by halftime.
Jailin Cherry missed a layup for LSU within the first minutes of the third quarter; however, Newby scored behind the free throw line soon after. After a steal from Pointer that resulted in a left-handed layup, the LSU Tigers extended their lead to 23. Auburn continued to try to fight through LSU’s strong presence on the court. Coulibaly returned and scored 6 points, while Scott-Grayson was right behind her with 4. Kiyae White scored for the first time the whole game by the middle of the third.
Although Newby and Aifuwa both sat on the bench by the end of the third quarter due to fouls, LSU continued to persevere. Hannah Gusters rose to the occasion, scoring 11 points, and 6 of those points being in the third quarter. With only a few seconds left, Auburn’s Jala Jordan scored a layup with an assist by Mar’shaun Bostic, bringing their score up to 41-61 LSU.
The fourth quarter led to some easy scores for LSU. With a 10-0 run to start, three LSU players entered the game for the first time. Seconds into her entrance, Timia Ware achieved a clean assist to Newby, which allowed LSU to lead 71-41, the largest lead throughout the game. With less than 2 minutes remaining in the game, Auburn’s Hughes tried for a 3-pointer, eager to use every second left on the clock. After the 3-pointer was no good, Pointer stole the ball, which lead to Sarah Shemasti scoring a layup for LSU. Attempted shots on both LSU and Auburn’s part were missed in the final seconds of the game, leading to the LSU Tigers securing another win on the road, taking down Auburn 76-48.
Khayla Pointer lead the LSU stats board with 24 points and 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Gusters followed with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 block; Aifuwa with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 blocks.
Auburn stat leaders included Coulibaly with 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block; Scott-Grayson with 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal; Wells with 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.
(Press release provided by LSU Athletics)
