Auburn University’s women’s basketball team faced a tough opponent Thursday, falling 81-51 to No. 3 South Carolina at Neville Arena. This marks the Tigers’ fourth consecutive game against a top-25 ranked team.
Auburn coach Larry Vickers commented on the team’s recent schedule and performance: “Not too many teams in the country have an opportunity to play three top-5 teams and we have. We have to do a better job versus those teams with our intensity, execution, finishing and coaching.”
Syriah Daniels led Auburn with 11 points, including three three-pointers. “Syriah did a really good job,” Vickers said. “She’s been in a really good groove these last three games. When she got some good looks today, she knocked them down.” Harissoum Coulibaly added 10 points for the Tigers.
Khady Leye contributed nine points—all in the second half—and grabbed seven rebounds, the highest in the game.
South Carolina’s hall of fame coach Dawn Staley acknowledged Auburn’s effort: “They play hard, every second and every minute. That has to be an imprint of your program. Coach (Vickers) is a great coach. I think he’s well ahead of the curve.”
The Gamecocks gained control early with a 14-0 run after Coulibaly scored Auburn’s first basket. Auburn responded with five straight points but ended the first quarter trailing 25-10 as South Carolina outrebounded them and shot nearly 69 percent from the field.
Auburn adjusted defensively in the second quarter by switching to a zone defense, limiting South Carolina’s shooting percentage and out-rebounding them during that period.
The Tigers found some offensive rhythm through transition plays following steals but continued to struggle with consistency against South Carolina’s defense.
“They cover a lot of ground,” Staley said about Auburn’s defensive pressure. “They’re relentless in their pursuit of speeding you up. We knew that’s one of the things they do extremely well that we had to prep for.”
Auburn managed to get to the free-throw line more frequently in the third quarter but trailed by 30 points entering the final period.
Leye sparked an 8-0 run for Auburn in the fourth quarter, with contributions from Coulibaly and Kaitlyn Duhon on both ends of the floor.
Daniels closed out her scoring with two more three-pointers as Auburn matched South Carolina with 20 points each in the final quarter.
The loss puts Auburn at 13-9 overall and 2-6 in conference play. The Tigers will play their next two games on the road: first against No. 17 Ole Miss at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena on Monday—a matchup moved due to weather issues—and then at Florida next Thursday. Admission for Monday’s game will be free, with general admission seating available; fans can watch via SEC Network+ or listen on Auburn Sports Network.
Auburn returns home February 8 for a game against No. 6 LSU, which will include a special orange crewneck giveaway as part of its Real Tigers Wear Orange promotion.
