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A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn's big win over Miles College previews the Johnnie Harris era

<p>Nov. 4, 2021; Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris during an exhibition match between Auburn and Miles College at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala.</p>

Nov. 4, 2021; Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris during an exhibition match between Auburn and Miles College at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala.

Using defensive dominance and an offense centered around scoring in the paint, Auburn took home a 102-42 victory over Miles College on Thursday, giving Tiger fans a first look into the Johnnie Harris era. 

The Auburn roster has taken a hit since last season. Unique Thompson is gone and forward Romi Levy is out for the season with a torn ACL. Because of this, Harris only had one forward, Kiyae' White, in the starting lineup.

White, a redshirt senior from Macungie, Pennsylvania, made her mark on the night off the boards. She gobbled up 16 rebounds to go along with 14 points on the night.

Honesty Scott-Grayson, the Baylor transfer who led the team in scoring last season, added 19 points of her own. Aicha Coulibaly was the main force in the paint, as she led the team with 20 points and had four rebounds off the offensive glass. Over half of Auburn’s 102 points were scored in the paint on the night.

What motivated a lot of the offense, however, was the speed and high octane defense played by Harris’ squad. 

"We got a lot of (offense) off of our defense. Mar'Shaun [Bostic] got us going.” Harris said. “She got some steals and got us going in transition. She made some really good passes tonight. She's a freshman, so she made some mistakes, but overall, she got us going. She played hard and we played hard behind her."

Bostic logged three of the Tigers’ 18 steals on the night. Even when she wasn’t the one to steal the ball, she was usually the one to push it up the court, using her blazing speed to push Miles in transition. The Tigers finished with 54 points off of turnovers.

While the team didn’t have the same harsh full-court press of the previous era, the tight man-to-man defense and paint scoring showed the toughness of this Auburn team. Which is something that Harris hopes will become an identity for her era. 

"That felt good," Harris said. "I think they're learning us, they're learning our personality. They're learning that we're going to be intense and not to take that personally."

The Tigers will open the regular season up against Georgia Southern on Thursday, Nov. 11. That game will start at 7 p.m. at Auburn Arena.


Dylan Fox | Sports Writer

Dylan Fox, Junior in Civil Site Design Engineering, joined The Plainsman as a sports writer in Spring 2020. From Geneva, IL.

@DylanBFox

dbf0012@auburn.edu


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