The Auburn women’s basketball team played a fast-paced physical game against the Tennessee Lady Volunteers Thursday night. Tuning into the game and the way the Tigers played, it might not have been evident that the team had just completed their third game in five days.
The Tiger’s past two opponents had not been easy. They hosted Alabama and Kentucky at home, two days apart, then had to turn around and play again on Thursday against the No. 4 team in the country. The SEC has proven to be a physical conference, so the Tigers had to dig deep to pull off the win.
“I asked [the players] are you tired," said head coach Johnnie Harris. "No…no one was tired”.
The team forced 22 turnovers, getting them 28 points throughout the night. Most of these were picked up by Freshman Mar’Shaun Bostic.
Bostic’s speed off the turnovers was unmatched all night. Auburn was able to score 11 points off of fast breaks, mostly created from Bostic’s speed. Her actions seemed to be the spark that the Tigers defense needed to stay in the game.
“It prompted them to get up the line and make passes difficult," Harris said of Bostic's gameplay. "You know, [Tennessee] stepped out of bounds, they threw some passes away, and then they rushed some shots, our pressure started to bother them”.
This fast pace defense definitely paid off as Auburn was able to hold Tennessee to only nine 3-point attempts and cut its second chance points to nine.
However, it wasn’t just Bostic. Aicha Coulibaly was Auburn’s leading scorer for the night. Anytime Tennessee's size seemed to stop Bostic, Coulibaly was just a pass away to get points in the paint.
The quick turnaround for games continues into the weekend, as Auburn travels to face Vanderbilt in Nashville on Sunday at 2 p.m. CST.
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Lily has been with The Plainsman for three years and started out as a Sports Writer before becoming the Operations Editor. She graduates in May of 2024 and is from Washington, D.C.
