Auburn women’s basketball returned to Neville Arena on Sunday, securing a 69-62 win over the UAB Dragons.
The game posed an extra challenge as DeYona Gaston — graduate student forward and leading scorer and rebounder for the Tigers — did not suit up to face the Dragons. Gaston’s 19.9 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per game were missed, but several bench players stepped up in her absence.
Syriah Daniels scored a career-high 14 points in her first career start and was a vital part of the Tigers’s seven-point victory.
“I experienced a lot of emotions, like I was on a high. I'm kind of jittery right now,” Daniels said. “I really am on a high. It's just really a lot different. Just to see my dad smile, just to see him happy. So, when he smiles I'm happy. People don't understand that really makes my day.”
Auburn took an early lead in the first quarter thanks to an explosive start by Daniels and other strong offensive performances by Celia Sumbane and Taylen Collins. Sumbane and Daniels ended the night with 14 points each, while Collins led the Tigers with 15. Collins also filled the hole left in the rebounding scheme by Gaston, recording 10 rebounds.
“I told them they had to be in attack mode,” said Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris. “I thought the first part of the first half, we were in attack mode, and then I thought they went zone, and we stopped attacking. We started settling. And after halftime, I thought we came back and we got back into attack mode.”
The Tigers also made a strong defensive stand despite Gaston’s absence, forcing 21 turnovers and boasting six blocks, eight steals and 18 defensive rebounds.
Collins and Oyindamola Akinbolawa held down a strong defense from the frontcourt, holding UAB to 30 points in the paint. However, the Tigers did struggle to contain the Dragons in the second quarter. UAB shot 64.3% from the field in the second quarter and 42.9% from beyond the arc. Maddie Walsh and Sara Bershers in particular were giving the Auburn defense fits, shooting a combined 6-of-16 from 3-point range. Walsh finished with 13 points and Bershers ended with 15 points.
“We started switching. I think we were trying to hedge,” Harris said. “They were setting that screen with our five. We went smaller so that we could switch that screen instead of trying to hedge and get back because when we did that, they would just throw it to the five. We would recover, and then they throw it back to them. So the adjustment was that we started switching, and other and then pressure and switching to deny back and pressure on the ball.”
The Tigers are back in action against Louisiana in Lafayette, La. on Wednesday, Dec.18 at 11:00 a.m. CST. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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Jackie is a freshman majoring in Drug and Biopharmaceutical Sciences. She started with The Plainsman in fall 2024.
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