AUBURN, Ala. – No. 13 LSU jumped out to a big early lead, and Auburn was never able to recover as they fell 76-48 Sunday at Auburn Arena.
Auburn (8-6, 0-3 SEC) kept pace with their Tiger counterparts through the middle 20 minutes of the game, but the first and fourth quarters were all LSU (15-2, 3-1).
"I didn't think we came out and competed," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "We didn't battle. I thought when we came back out in the second quarter, we battled a little bit more. But I just thought we didn't come out and battle (at the beginning). When you're playing a team like that, you've got to come out and give it everything you've got every possession. And we didn't do that."
Auburn shot a season-low 24.2 percent from the floor (15-62) and made just one 3-pointer on the day. LSU controlled the boards, pulling down 50 rebounds to Auburn's 35, and outscored Auburn in the paint 42-24. LSU shot 29-of-63 (46.0%) from the field.
Despite playing limited minutes due to early foul trouble, Aicha Coulibaly led Auburn with 13 points and six rebounds. Honesty Scott-Grayson added 12, and Sania Wells had eight. Wells and Mar'Shaun Bostic had two assists apiece, and Bostic led Auburn with a pair of steals.
LSU led 26-8 after one quarter, hitting 12-of-19 shots in the opening 10 minutes as Auburn was unable to get a defensive stop. The second and third quarters were nearly even as LSU outscored Auburn by just one point in each period, but LSU opened the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run to put the game away.
Sophomore center Precious Johnson, who transferred to Auburn during the semester break, made her Auburn debut Sunday, less than 36 hours after learning she had been granted eligibility by the NCAA. The 6-5 Texas transfer scored two points and had a rebound in just under nine minutes off the bench in her first game action since March.
Khayla Pointer of LSU led all players with 24 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and five steals. Hannah Gusters added 13 for LSU off the bench.
Auburn faces two more road trips this week, beginning with a trek to Gainesville, Fla., to take on the Florida Gators. Game time is 4 p.m. CT Thursday with a national broadcast on SEC Network.
Auburn drops SEC home opener to No. 13 LSU
