Auburn women’s basketball defeated Clemson 83-53 in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Thursday night, moving to 5-2 on the season.
Auburn’s defense dominated the contest, claiming 17 steals, 29 rebounds and three blocks. Clemson finished the matchup with 29 turnovers and four points off opponent turnovers while Auburn finished with 13 turnovers and 29 points off opponent turnovers.
“We've been working on that and we've been working on getting turnovers and going to score,” said Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris. “Our best scoring is our primary offense. So, when we get a steal, when we get a rebound and we go score.”
In addition to 29 points off turnovers, Auburn had 18 fast break points and made 17 of its 23 attempted layups.
Honesty Scott-Grayson, who missed Auburn's previous game with an injury, returned and led Auburn with 18 points, five steals and five assists. Scott-Grayson’s 18 points matched her season-high points scored this season, and her five steals are a season high for the graduate senior.
“We knew coming into the game that we had to make a statement,” Scott-Grayson said. “And we did just that, and I’m proud of this team for following the game plan.”
In the first half of the contest, Auburn went 13-for-30 (43.3%) from inside the paint and 3-for-10 from beyond the arc while Clemson shot 7-for-21 (33.3%) from inside and 1-for-5 from outside. Auburn grabbed 11 steals in the first half as Clemson put up 18 first-half turnovers.
Mar’shaun Bostic grabbed four steals in the first quarter alone, meeting her career-high steals, while going on to pick up one more.
JaMya Mingo-Young followed Scott-Grayson in scoring, going 3-for-4 from the field, 9-for-11 from the free-throw line and 1-for-1 from three, claiming a total of 16 points. Mingo-Young’s 16 points came in only 17 minutes of play for the junior.
“(This game) felt really good,” Mingo-Young said. “Coming in and playing with pace is my job, to play fast but not in a hurry…I know exactly what I need to do when I get out there.”
Auburn ended the game making seven of its last nine attempted field goals while outsourcing Clemson 47-32 in the second half, securing its 83-53 victory over the Tigers.
“I thought our kids came out and played hard,” Harris said. “Our message to them was to come out, play our game, play our style of play and impose our will. I wanted them to set the tone and I thought they did that and, you know, normally we let up. I didn't think we let up tonight.”
Auburn will travel to Birmingham, Alabama, on Sunday, Dec. 3, to face the UAB Blazers. Tipoff is at 2:30 CST and will be televised on ESPN+.
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Grace Heim is a junior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in English Literature. She started with The Plainsman in January 2023.
