Honesty Scott-Grayson scored a career-high 23 points for Auburn, but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers fell 62-58 to Ole Miss Thursday night.
“The biggest thing was not turning the basketball over,” said Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. “And we started shooting the ball with confidence. Honesty took some great shots and shot it with confidence.”
The Tigers were down by as many as 12 late in the third, but a 7-0 run to open up the fourth quarter kept it close. Auburn pulled within two points in the final moments before Ole Miss free throws secured the Rebels’ victory.
Scott-Grayson was 9-of-16 from the field, including three buckets from beyond the arc.
She didn’t just lead the way for the Tigers in scoring either. Scott-Grayson had a team-leading five rebounds and tied for the team-lead with three steals.
Romi Levy dropped in 13 points, and Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu had three steals as well.
The Tigers shot 41.8% from the field and were 6-of-21 from 3-point range in Thursday’s contest. In the fourth quarter, Auburn was 8-of-12 from the field.
On the defensive side, Auburn turned 19 Ole Miss turnovers into 17 points but were outrebounded 34-28 by the Rebels.
Ole Miss led 16-8 at the end of the first quarter, but Auburn stayed in it, and at halftime, the Rebels took a 32-23 into the break. Coming out of halftime, Auburn pulled within four, but Ole Miss ended the third on an 8-0 run.
After Auburn’s 7-0 run to start the fourth, Ole Miss got its lead back up to 10 points with 3:13 left to play. The Tigers did not go out without a fight and cut the lead to two with 39 seconds to play.
Auburn was unable to force a turnover and fouled Ole Miss under the basket, which led to the game-sealing free throws.
The Tigers are back in action on Sunday, hosting Missouri at 2 p.m. CST.
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Jake Weese, senior in journalism with a minor in history, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
