A’riel Jackson achieved a career-high 19 points as Auburn battled back from a double-digit deficit but ultimately lost to No. 16 Oklahoma, 72-65, at Neville Arena on Sunday.
“We want to be a team that’s undefeated at Neville,” Auburn coach Larry Vickers said. “We want to take care of home court. That Oklahoma team is really good. They lead our league in assists and rebounding. Our group did a good job of competing. I’m happy with the way we fought and competed for the entirety of the game. I’m proud of my group but we don’t believe in moral victories.”
After trailing by 10 points midway through the third quarter, Ja’Mia Harris scored seven straight points to close the gap to three before Oklahoma finished the period ahead, 53-48.
Harris and Mya Petticord each contributed 12 points for Auburn, while Harissoum Coulibaly added 10 points without committing a turnover in her 23 minutes on the court.
Jackson opened the fourth quarter by scoring Auburn’s first seven points, narrowing the Sooners’ lead to two.
“Our seniors are starting are starting to realize that there are only five weeks guaranteed of the season for them and they’re starting to knock it into overdrive,” Vickers said. “She was aggressive. She saw some coverages she liked. She’s super talented. She’s in the SEC for a reason. She’s built to take the bumps and when her jump shot is clicking, she’s super tough.”
Coulibaly tied the score at 57-57 with just over six minutes left, prompting an Oklahoma timeout as fans responded enthusiastically.
Oklahoma briefly regained control with a jumper, but Coulibaly again evened things at 59-59 with under five minutes remaining.
Auburn then had an opportunity to take its first lead since early in the game but missed two attempts on one possession.
Oklahoma responded with a six-point run while holding Auburn scoreless for nearly four minutes until Kaitlyn Duhon ended the drought with a layup that cut the deficit to four points with just over a minute left; Duhon also led Auburn with eight rebounds.
Oklahoma sealed their win with a three-pointer, pushing their advantage to seven points in the final minute.
Aaliyah Chavez made four three-pointers and led Oklahoma (16-4, 4-3) with 18 points.
Auburn (13-8, 2-5) will face another ranked opponent when No. 2 South Carolina visits Neville Arena on Thursday at 8 p.m. CT.
“There are no days off in this league,” Vickers said. “Our team understands that. We can compete and hopefully those competes start to turn into Ws.”
