Auburn was unable to secure its first SEC Tournament win since 2020, falling 63-47 to the Georgia Lady Bulldogs.
The game was close in the beginning, with Auburn’s Aicha Coulibaly scoring the first points of the game. After a made jumper and 3-point shot by Coulibaly, the Tigers led the Lady Bulldogs 5-0.
Coulibaly led the Tigers in scoring, going 5-for-15 inside and 1-for-3 beyond the arc — totaling 13 points for the night.
The Lady Bulldogs did not let Auburn’s quick points go unanswered, as at the end of the first quarter, Georgia led 12-10.
Georgia found its rhythm in the second quarter, dominating in transition. Georgia’s Alisha Lewis had a career-high 12 assists, seven of which came in the second quarter. Lewis led the Lady Bulldogs in assists and scored eight points.
Georgia went on a 14-1 run in the second quarter, while the Tigers went over five minutes without a point. The Lady Bulldogs outscored Auburn 26-15 in the second quarter, and the Tigers trailed 38-25 at halftime.
“I really felt like we had a chance in here. Other than that second quarter, we were in every other quarter,” said head coach Johnnie Harris. “We relied too much on our 3-point shots, not working the ball enough. Other than that second quarter I thought we battled them. But we just have to be better.”
Despite the loss, Sydney Shaw kept the Tigers in the contest. Shaw scored two key 3-pointers, giving the Tigers some much-needed momentum in the first half, and finished the night with 12 points.
In the second half, the Tigers fought back, improving on the defensive end of the court, but their improvement was not enough to overcome the first-half deficit. Auburn held the Lady Bulldogs to nine points in the third quarter and 16 points in the fourth, but their offense was unable to keep up with the Lady Bulldogs.
“We had a hard time getting good, open looks or finding a person that was open,” Harris said. “We pretty much followed our defensive game plan. We just weren’t able to score against their zone.
The Tigers went 17-for-54 from the field and shot 21.7% from outside the perimeter. The Lady Bulldogs shot 42.6% from the field and made five 3-pointers – the most they have made in their last seven games.
At the end of the third quarter, the Tigers trailed 47-35 and were able to get within eight points of the Lady Bulldogs’ lead early in the final quarter. After another five-minute scoring drought, the Tigers were unable to stay within eight points of the lead as Georgia pulled away for a 16-point win.
The Tigers, 15-14 overall, await to discover their postseason fate. Bids for the NCAA and WNIT will be announced Sunday, March 12.
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Grace Heim is a junior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in English Literature. She started with The Plainsman in January 2023.
