Khady Leye matched her career high with 20 points as Auburn fell to No. 16 Kentucky, 63-56, on Senior Night at Neville Arena. Harissoum Coulibaly contributed 13 points for the Tigers, but Kentucky used a strong start to secure the win.
Auburn coach Larry Vickers praised both Kentucky and his seniors after the game. “They’re a really good basketball team and they’re probably going to do some special things in the postseason,” Vickers said. “Our seniors, we want to celebrate. Not everybody wants to join a program year one, especially in the SEC. I appreciate them for that. I felt like this was one we could’ve sneaked today.”
Kaitlyn Duhon led Auburn’s defensive effort with five steals as the Tigers forced 17 turnovers while committing only eight, their lowest of the season. Auburn outscored Kentucky 15-9 in points off turnovers but was outrebounded by the Wildcats 37-26.
Leye also grabbed eight rebounds and scored 16 of her points in the second half, making nine of twelve shots against defender Clara Strack.
“The last three weeks, Khady’s begun to separate herself and say y’all can come to me offensively,” Vickers said. “She’s starting to separate herself from a scoring component and that’s good to build on moving forward.”
Auburn took an early lead but then allowed a 10-0 run by Kentucky following two three-pointers from Amelia Hassett. The Tigers trailed 19-11 after one quarter.
“We got off to a super slow start,” Vickers said. “After that we played them evenly. Against a team that good, you have to be good for 40 minutes.”
The teams played even in the second quarter as Auburn went into halftime trailing by eight points.
“We’ve been a resilient group, from playing behind,” Vickers added. “We’re going to continue to fight and compete. We did a good job with Kentucky’s size of competing and fighting.”
In the third quarter, Leye cut into Kentucky’s lead before another run put Auburn down by double digits again. Hassett hit five three-pointers total and led Kentucky with 15 points as four Wildcats finished in double figures.
Despite falling behind by as many as nineteen early in the fourth quarter, Auburn closed strong with an eight-point streak and ended on a 14-2 run.
Before tipoff, Auburn honored seniors Angena Belloso, Kaitlyn Duhon, Ja’Mia Harris, A’riel Jackson and Mya Petticord during a pregame ceremony.
This season saw Auburn women’s basketball fans set an attendance record at Neville Arena with over fifty-seven thousand attendees during 2025-26.
Auburn (14-15 overall; 3-12 SEC) will finish its regular season Sunday at Arkansas before heading into next week’s SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina.
