Last season, Belmont came to Auburn and handed the Tigers a 21-point loss. This season, Auburn avenged that loss with a 71-62 over the Bruins on Wednesday on their home court.
“The chemistry is getting really good," said head coach Johnnie Harris. "Everybody knows where to look for each other. They’re doing a good job of finding each other."
The victory extends the Auburn win streak to four games, a feat that hasn’t been done since 2018. It also marks six wins this season, surpassing the total amount of wins that the team achieved last season.
Both teams were off to a cold start from the offensive side of the ball, shooting a combined 3-for-17 from the field to start the game. Auburn had more points from free throws than from the field in the first five minutes.
It was a 5-5 tie just over five minutes into the game, when a timeout on the court sparked the scoring. Belmont was able to build its lead up to four points, but Auburn closed with a few baskets and tied the game at 13 by the end of one quarter.
The Tigers began heating up in the second quarter, spreading the ball out amongst five players who helped contribute to an 18-point quarter. Auburn nearly did all the damage down low, with 16 of its 18 points coming from the paint and half of them coming from six Belmont turnovers.
A 14-4 run in the second quarter, led by Sania Wells, who had eight of the 14 Tiger points, helped push the halftime lead out to 31-24. She finished her night with 13 points and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Meanwhile, Aicha Coulibaly was the leading scorer in the game for the fourth contest in a row. Coulibaly finished with 24 points, her fourth consecutive game with 20-plus points.
Belmont’s turnover issues in the first half were nearly non-existent in the third. After committing nine turnovers in the first half, the Bruins cleaned up their play and committed just one turnover in the third. It led to a 16-point Belmont quarter.
Unfortunately for Belmont, Auburn’s offense only got hotter.
After shooting 33% from the field in the first quarter and 42% from the field in the second quarter, the Tigers shot 67% in the third quarter. The hot-shot shooting Tigers kept Belmont at bay, fighting off any Bruin rally by answering with their own points.
“I thought our team played tough,” Harris said. “Again, they showed some resiliency. Every time Belmont came up with a big run, I thought we answered it."
With her team up 36-32, Coulibaly went on a personal 6-0 run to put Auburn up by double digits for the first time. Belmont was able to cut the deficit to six, trailing 46-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
It ended up being a 13-4 Belmont run that continued into the fourth, where the deficit was cut to one point. Momentum was in favor of the home team, but Honesty Scott-Grayson shut it down on the ensuing Auburn possession.
Coulibaly had several defenders around her down low but found Scott-Grayson open behind the arc, who fired a triple that went down. It was the second Auburn three of the night and ignited a 7-0 run to push the lead back out.
Scott-Grayson finished her night just shy of a double-double with 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
“When AC wasn’t scoring, Honesty was,” Harris said. “You have to pick your poison. And that’s who I’m going to down the stretch.”
Belmont went on an 8-3 lead to close the gap back to within one possession with eight minutes left, before Annie Hughes got on the scorecard with a free-throw for her first points of the night. While Hughes wasn’t that impactful scoring-wise, she led the team with 10 rebounds, a career-high.
"Annie was huge – she didn’t score a lot, but she had 10 rebounds and guarded," Harris said. "She kept our offense moving."
Auburn tacked on eight points in the final minute to push them past the 70-point mark for the fourth consecutive game.
No Auburn team has done that since the 2018 season, when the Tigers scored 70 points in nine consecutive games. The team made the NCAA Tournament that year.
With two games remaining in non-conference play and SEC play rapidly approaching, Auburn is playing its best basketball. It’s now won four in a row, and six of its last seven. Harris certainly has this team headed in the right direction.
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Originally from Helena, Ala., Caleb Jones is a senior studying journalism at Auburn University. He has been on staff with The Plainsman since 2019.
You can follow him here on Twitter: @calebjsports
