DeYona Gaston picked the perfect time to make the second 3-pointer of her career.
With 1.6 seconds remaining, the Auburn graduate forward buried a corner three to lift the Tigers to a thrilling 65-64 win over Northern Iowa on Thursday in their opening game of the Paradise Jam.
After UNI made two free throws to take a 64-62 lead with 3.3 seconds left, Auburn called timeout to advance the ball to the frontcourt. Inbounding in front of the Auburn bench, Taylen Collins found Gaston wide open in the corner, where she knocked down the game-winner. UNI called timeout but could not get a shot off, and the Tigers celebrated the victory at the UVI Sports & Fitness Center.
“(Coach J) saw one of their girls was sagging off, and she just told me to shoot it,” Gaston said. “So I just shot it.
“I’m getting really comfortable shooting the 3. I’ve been trying to work on it each day. But when she told me to shoot it, I knew I had to try to make that.”
Gaston’s only other 3-pointer came on Nov. 27, 2021, against Cal State Northridge while she was a sophomore at Texas. She hadn’t attempted one in a game since but believes she could add it to her game as the season progresses.
“She makes them in practice all the time,” Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. “And that kid is always in the gym. I have every confidence in her. The play call actually was not that; it was for her to screen for Audia (Young), and either we go straight in to DeYona or get Audia out. But once they were sagging in on DeYona, I told her to shoot it.”
Gaston scored all 18 of her points in the second half after sitting much of the first half with foul trouble.
Collins contributed 10 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, including the game-winning pass. Young made two 3-pointers and finished with nine points, while Oyindamola Akinbolawa grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and scored seven points, including her first career 3-pointer.
Kaitlyn Duhon turned four steals into eight points and added three assists, and Mar’Shaun Bostic chipped in seven points with a game-high seven assists.
“I saw this team grow up today,” Harris said. “Just by listening, by taking plays out of the huddle, by executing. Getting stops when we needed to. When we had to turn the pressure up, I saw them getting a little tired so we cranked it up a little bit. I thought our kids responded to it.”
Auburn led 31-26 at halftime after building an 11-point lead in the second quarter. Foul trouble allowed UNI to close the gap before halftime.
UNI opened the second half with a 13-5 run, taking its first lead at 39-36 with just under five minutes to play in the third. Auburn responded with a 7-0 spurt capped by a Young three, regaining a five-point lead entering the fourth.
The Tigers extended the lead to six with 5:09 left in the game, but a 7-0 UNI run gave the Panthers a 62-60 advantage with just over a minute to play. Gaston tied it with a layup with 30 seconds left before UNI hit two free throws to take the lead, setting up her game-winning three.
“They mixed up their defense, and we got in foul trouble,” Harris said. “DeYona had to sit for a little while, and they were able to take advantage. Once she let the game come to her, I thought she did a really good job.”
UNI’s Maya McDermott, the reigning national player of the week and the nation’s second-leading scorer, led all players with 29 points, including the two free throws that briefly put the Panthers ahead.
Auburn continues Paradise Jam play Friday against Pittsburgh. Tipoff is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CST and will be streaming on ESPN+.
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Patrick is a junior from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2022.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @patrickabingham
