Auburn concluded its regular season with a 77-74 win at Florida, staving off a late Gators rally to earn its second road win in SEC play.
With the win, Auburn (19-10, 8-8 SEC) secured its winningest regular season and SEC season since the 2018-19 season.
For just the third time in SEC play this season, Honesty Scott-Grayson was not Auburn’s leading scorer. Instead, Mar’shaun Bostic led the Tigers with 18 points. Bostic made five of her six shot attempts and eight of her 10 free throws to lead the Tigers to victory.
Scott-Grayson finished with 16 points in 28 minutes, battling foul trouble and finishing with four fouls.
The Tigers shot 56.3% from the field, making 27 of their 48 shots. It was a season-best shooting percentage for the Tigers, who came into the game averaging 40.2% on shots. The Tigers were 5-of-12, or 41.7% from 3-point range, and 18-of-25 on free throws.
Despite the high shooting percentage, the Auburn offense was hampered by issues with ball control. Auburn committed a season-high 24 turnovers with the Gators scoring 28 points off of turnovers.
Meanwhile, the Auburn defense kept the Gators in check as Florida shot just 39.7% from the field, going 23-of-58 on shots. The Tigers, as per usual, turned the Gators over often, forcing 21 turnovers and turning those into 24 points. The Gators were held without a made 3-pointer in the game, going 0-for-18 from behind the arc.
Florida (14-14, 5-11 SEC) hurt the Tigers greatly at the free-throw line. The Gators attempted 30 foul shots and were nearly perfect, making 28 and only missing two. The Gators’ free-throw rate was 93.3%.
Auburn had to overcome a slow start to get the win, as they turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter alone and were dominated in the paint early. After the first quarter, Florida had a 16-2 advantage in points in the paint and a 22-15 lead.
The second and third quarters were dominated by Auburn, with the Tigers outscoring the Gators 49-32 in the middle 20 minutes of the game. The Tigers shot above 60% in both the second and third quarters, turning the game around. Thirteen of Bostic’s 18 points came in these two quarters as the Tigers built a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
The turnover problem returned in a big way in the fourth quarter, with Auburn committing seven turnovers and Florida scoring eight points off turnovers in the final 10 minutes. The Gators came roaring back from their 10-point deficit, cutting Auburn’s lead to one with 3:23 to go.
The Gators came back despite only making five baskets in the fourth quarter, with the home team attempting 10 free throws in the final quarter and making each one.
At the 3:23 mark, following the foul that allowed Florida to cut the lead to one, Scott-Grayson, who had been on the bench with four fouls since the 8:49 mark of the quarter, subbed back in. Scott-Grayson scored four of the Tigers’ final five points and had the winning block on the Gators’ last-second 3-point attempt as Auburn survived, earning its first win at Florida since Jan. 6, 2019.
The Tigers’ win gave them a three-game win streak going into postseason play. Heading into the day as one of ESPN’s last four teams in, the Tigers will have one more chance to impress the NCAA selection committee at the SEC Tournament.
The Tigers, who locked up the No. 7 seed in the tournament with their win, will begin play on Thursday, March 7 at 5 p.m. CST with television coverage on the SEC Network. The Tigers’ opponent will be determined following the rest of Sunday’s games.
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Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @mattwallaceAU
