Despite a combined 52 points from Yuting Deng and DeYona Gaston, Auburn couldn’t match the offensive output of Vanderbilt and Mikayla Blakes’ 55 points. The Tigers were defeated 98-88 in an overtime affair against the Commodores on Sunday afternoon inside of Neville Arena.
Auburn had a 15 point lead with 6:55 remaining in the fourth quarter, then a series of miscues resulted in a Commodore comeback that included a foul on Blakes’ 3-point shot with only 0.9 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.
“Mikayla is really good at getting her body into you,” Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. “She got her body into Mar’shaun (Bostic), and you know, they call the foul there. What else do you do there, maybe not put your hands up. She’s a great player, she drew 15 fouls and a lot of them are similar.”
Yuting Deng (#9) attempts a three-pointer versus Vanderbilt in Neville Arena on February 16th, 2025.
Auburn had no answer for the 5-foot-8 freshman guard, Blakes, who scored 55 points on 15-28 shooting from the field and made 23-24 free throw attempts. Blakes scoring performance sets the NCAA freshman single-game scoring record, which she previously held from a 53-point explosion in a win over Florida earlier this season.
The foul that sent Blakes to the line at the end of regulation was the fifth on senior guard Mar’shaun Bostic, and the Tigers felt her absence in overtime, allowing a 12-0 run and finishing 14-4 in the overtime period.
“Not having a senior, you know, your senior point guard who breaks the press and then gets you into an offense, she has an understanding,” said Harris. “Then you have to go in with a freshman who did fine, but when you’re in that situation, you know, the experience is the experience.”
Gaston, the senior forward, continued her impressive play despite the loss, contributing 25 points, three rebounds and an assist. Gaston is averaging 23.7 points over the last seven games and continues to lead the Tigers in points per game.
Mar'shaun Bostic (#12) directs a play versus Vanderbilt in Neville Arena on February 16th, 2025.
“I thought Yuting did a pretty good job of finding her shots and taking the shots that were available to her, she looked to score quicker today,” said Harris. “Those two (Gaston) have really good chemistry, they are two that stay in the gym.”
Deng was able to have her strongest performance as an Auburn Tiger and finished with a career-high 27 points while also grabbing nine rebounds. The 6-foot-0 freshman guard shot 11-26 from the field and 4-10 from three.
“You could see the fatigue, and when that went we started making poor decisions,” said Harris. “We missed layups, we just have to be better. My message to them is to continue to fight. We’ll have to come back and play a really good Alabama team.”
Auburn’s next opportunity to get back in the win column will be on Sunday, Feb. 23 as it travels to Tuscaloosa, AL to take on No. 21 Alabama in Coleman Coliseum. The matchup is set for 4 p.m. CST and will be televised on SEC Network.
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Marshall is a junior majoring in Journalism. He joined the Plainsman in the fall of 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @marshalldow02
