AUBURN, Ala. – The new-look Auburn women's basketball team showcased its depth, speed and balance in their season-opener, running away with an 82-41 win over USC Upstate Wednesday night at Auburn Arena.
All 15 players on the roster saw action for the Tigers (1-0), 12 of the 15 found the scoresheet, and 13 players grabbed at least one rebound. Auburn's trademark defense was back, too, turning 25 USC Upstate (0-1) turnovers into 21 points.
"Our defense was very exciting," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "You could see the players were excited to play it. The effort was unbelievable. I thought we could have gotten a few more points off those turnovers."
Senior Unique Thompson and redshirt sophomore Jala Jordan shared the team lead with 16 points apiece. Thompson also pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Tigers, but the Tigers' 45 rebounds were spread amongst 13 players as Auburn did a great job crashing the boards.
"Unique definitely started off great," Williams-Flournoy said. "She set the tone right away, and she made known her presence. USC Upstate did a very good job later in the game, they had someone in front of her and someone behind her. I appreciate them looking in (toward Unique), and some of the passes probably could have been a little better, but at the end of the day, move the ball and try to get her in a better situation."
Auburn's newcomers made an immediate impact. Along with Jordan's 16 points and three rebounds, freshman Romi Levy turned some heads with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sophomore transfer Honesty Scott-Grayson finished with seven points and two assists in her Auburn debut. And fellow newcomers Keya Patton, Kira Lowery, Aicha Coulibaly, Alaina Rice and Alycia Reese all found their way onto the scoresheet. Rice was the team's assist leader with five on the night, and Coulibaly had Auburn's only blocked shot.
Among the returners, sophomore Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu matched a career-high with six points along with four rebounds and a team-leading four steals, a career-best. And Sania Wells finished with seven points, one shy of her career-high.
As a team, Auburn shot 46.2 percent from the floor (30-65) and hit 8-of-20 3-point attempts (40%). The Tigers also knocked down 12-of-17 attempts at the line (82.4%). The Tigers outrebounded the Spartans 45-26.
Auburn never trailed, jumping out to a 16-0 lead before the Spartans got on the board late in the first quarter to make it 16-2 after one period. That lead would balloon to 31 points at the end of the first half as the Tigers led 40-9; it's the first time Auburn has held an opponent to single digits since the 2016-17 season when Jacksonville scored just eight in the opening 20 minutes.
The Spartans found their shooting touch in the third quarter, matching Auburn's offensive output as both teams scored 23 points in the period; it was 63-32 headed to the fourth. But Auburn's defense picked it back up in the fourth, outscoring Upstate 19-9 to close out the 82-41 win, the largest margin of victory for Auburn since a 52-point win at Elon on Dec. 22, 2018.
Dakota McCaughan led USC Upstate with 15 points; Marnicha Prudent picked up a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Tigers are back in action at noon Saturday as they host Samford at Auburn Arena. Limited general admission tickets are available at AUBTix.com; fans can also watch on SEC Network + and listed on WTGZ 95.9 FM and online at AuburnTigers.com.
