Auburn dropped its fifth straight game to open SEC play after a Sunday afternoon loss to Texas A&M by a score of 71-53. The Tigers are still in search of their first regular-season SEC win since beating Missouri in February 2020.
Aicha Coulibaly once again led Auburn in scoring despite playing limited minutes due to foul trouble, but it was not enough as Texas A&M seemed to hit all its shots in the matchup.
Coulibaly, who averages 18 points per game, scored 15 points against Texas A&M. She also added eight rebounds to her stat line. Sania Wells was the only other Tiger to reach double figures with 10 points of her own.
The Aggies shot 46 percent from the field and 40 percent from three. Prior to the game, the Aggies were first in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage – shooting 40 percent as a team. They also made all nine of their free throws.
“Texas A&M took advantage of us not having AC in,” said Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris. “I thought they went to work on the inside, but it was also inside-out. We came off shooters and gave them wide open shots. Second half, we attacked. We got in the paint, drew some fouls, made some jumpers in the paint. They started executing in the second half."
With the loss, Auburn is now the only team in the SEC without a conference win as this marked Texas A&M’s first conference win of the season.
A majority of Auburn’s conference losses this season have been heartbreaking where Auburn was in the game into the last 30 seconds. That was not the case Sunday, however.
After scoring only nine points in the second quarter, Auburn trailed 44-18 at halftime which was too big of a deficit to overcome despite outscoring Texas A&M by eight points in the second half.
“The second quarter, we were without Aicha Coulibaly," Harris said. "We struggled to score, we struggled to guard. Things just fell apart. … I thought we came back in the second half and competed. We challenged them at halftime to just go out and compete. It's about pride at that point.”
The struggling offense is a trend that continues to plague the Tigers in big games. Auburn was No. 13 in the SEC in points scored per game and finished well below its usual average of 64 points. Auburn ranks last in the conference in field goal percentage and shot poorly once again – only connecting on 36 percent of its shots.
The Tigers only hit one three pointer all game and shot just 10 of 18 from the free-throw line. Auburn also lost the rebounding margin by 12.
Auburn returns home Jan. 23 to welcome its rivals from Tuscaloosa – the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama had the upper hand the last time these two schools met when the Crimson Tide won 56-53. The game will take place at 3 p.m. CST and be broadcast on ESPNU.
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Jacob is a sophomore from Leeds, Alabama. This is his second year with The Auburn Plainsman.
Twitter: @JacobWaters_
