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A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn's season ends with tight loss to Clemson in WNIT second round

<p>Mar'shaun Bostic (#12) dribbling crosscourt against Tulane at Neville Arena on March 17th 2023</p>

Mar'shaun Bostic (#12) dribbling crosscourt against Tulane at Neville Arena on March 17th 2023

With a trip to the WNIT's Super 16 on the line, Auburn traveled to Clemson, South Carolina to take on the Clemson Tigers. Auburn fell 56-55 in a game that came down to the final possession. 

This season, the Tigers secured their first winning season since 2019, finishing 16-15, along with their first postseason win since 2016. 

Mar’Shaun Bostic had a career-high 23 points. She reached her career best by halftime and finished 11-of-18. She added four rebounds, a team-high four steals and two assists. 

“I put the ball in Mar’Shaun’s hand, I felt like she could get to the rim whenever, and she did,” said head coach Johnnie Harris. 

It was an evenly-matched contest throughout, with Clemson shooting 43% to Auburn's 42%. Both teams made seven free throws and Clemson made one more 3-pointer than Auburn. 

While Auburn was able to turn 21 of Clemson’s turnovers into 17 points, Clemson outrebounded the visitors 42-28. 

“They gave me everything they had, and I’m really proud of them," Harris said.  "We had a short bench, but everybody came in and did what we asked them to do. We’re looking forward to them getting some rest, then being able to work with them and get better.” 

At the end of the first quarter, Auburn led 16-15. Aicha Coulibaly and Bostic combined for 14 of Auburn’s 16 points in the opening period — one that featured eight lead changes. 

Clemson came out swinging in the second quarter, starting off with an 8-3 run which put the hosts up by five as Auburn froze from the field. Late in the period, Bostic hit a layup to close the gap to one point at halftime. 

Coulibaly had 14 points and led the team with seven rebounds. In the fourth quarter, she was unable to help the Tigers as she left the game for the final 5:52 after being injured due to an elbow to the face. She did not return. 

Just over a minute later, Kharyssa Richardson took a hard fall and was unable to return. She contributed six points and five rebounds. With the pair of injuries, the Tigers, who started shorthanded, were left without their frontcourt for the final minutes. 

“We got some big stops on the defensive end, just couldn’t convert,” Harris said. “We tried to drive the ball a lot in the fourth quarter, trying to draw fouls. But we’ve got to finish shots with contact.”

Auburn led 55-54 with under one minute to go. An offensive foul was called on the Tigers giving Clemson a chance to take the lead, which it did when Daisha Bradford hit a short jumper to put Clemson up by one with 21 seconds remaining. 

Auburn gained the ball back for the final possession but was unable to capitalize, as a second-straight offensive foul was called on the visitors. Auburn failed to score for the final 2:08 of the game and committed four turnovers in its final six possessions.

The loss concluded Auburn's 2022-23 season, with Harris and her team now looking ahead to the 2023-24 campaign. 

“A lot to build on from this year," Harris said. "These kids came back after the SEC Tournament, we changed a little bit the way we were playing. We got after it a little bit more. They bought into it, they really enjoyed playing that way."

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Lily Stewart | Operations Editor

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. 


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