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A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn defeats Florida to capture third consecutive SEC win

<p>Nov. 30, 2021; Aicha Coulibaly (5) during a game against North Florida from Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala.</p>

Nov. 30, 2021; Aicha Coulibaly (5) during a game against North Florida from Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn women’s basketball continued its winning ways on Monday night, defeating Florida in a 66-55 contest on Monday night to capture a third straight SEC victory for the first time since 2017.

The game began with an offensive explosion by the Gators, who shot 3-for-5 from 3-point range in the first quarter, giving the Tigers a nine-point deficit. The Tigers ended the first quarter by converting three of their next four baskets to cut the deficit to five. 

The Tigers' defense in the second quarter set up the team to come back, holding the Gators to two total points in the quarter. They forced the Gators to shoot 1-for-15 from the field and forced four turnovers. 

“I thought our kids whether we were in the matchup or whether we were in man, they pressured the ball, they helped each other," said head coach Johnnie Harris. "They covered for each other, you know, covered out switch. They communicated they did a really good job of going back and forth which is you know, it's been really hard for us, but we've been working more and more on that and I thought it just came together tonight.”

The double-doubles of Kharyssa Richardson and Aicha Coulibaly powered Auburn’s offense. Richardson notched her first career double-double, leading the team with 15 points and 16 rebounds. 

“She was amazing. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how many times I told her I was proud of her in the game. We need that from her every day,” Coulibaly said. This game was Coulibaly’s eighth career double-double.

Honesty Scott-Grayson added to the offense with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting with five rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes of action. 

In the loss, Gator senior guard Leilani Correa scored a game-high 16 points while shooting 4-for-6 from behind the arc with an additional four rebounds and three assists. 

Despite starting 0-6 in conference play, Monday’s win vaulted the Tigers over the Gators in the SEC standings putting the Tigers in a tie for ninth while improving to 3-6 in the conference play and 13-8 overall. Florida falls to 11th in the conference with a 2-6 conference record and 13-8 overall this season. 

“We've already played LSU, played South Carolina about to play them again. So we had a tough early stretch. I think four of our first six games were on the road, and we were playing a lot of young kids," Harris said. "So I think that was the difference. Now we have some veterans back playing healthy.” 

The Tigers will continue SEC play against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Sunday, Feb. 5, at 2 p.m. CST in Neville Arena — the second game of their three-game homestand. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network as the Tigers look to extend their conference win streak to four games, something the team has not accomplished since the 2015-16 season. 


Craig Noyes | Sports Writer

Craig Noyes is a junior from Kensington, Maryland, majoring in journalism. He joined The Plainsman in January 2023.

Twitter: @craignoyes58


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