AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to take a lead in the final five minutes, but the Tigers could not overcome a late Kentucky run in a 67-55 loss Tuesday night at Auburn Arena.
A 3-pointer by Honesty Scott-Grayson with 7:24 to play gave Auburn its first lead of the night at 48-45, and the Tigers still led by three, 53-50, with 4:39 remaining. But Auburn would make just one more shot the rest of the way as the Wildcats ended the game on a 17-2 run.
"I thought our team came out to battle in the second half," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "We got back in it, took the lead. You could see it, you could see that want in their eyes. But down the stretch we just made mental mistakes that cost us.
"We executed until it got down to the last five minutes of the ballgame. They made some really good reads, and we scored off of them. But those last five minutes, we just didn't execute."
Aicha Coulibaly recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, both team highs. She also led Auburn with four steals. Honesty Scott-Grayson scored 10 points, all in the second half. Jala Jordan added nine points off the bench, and Mar'Shaun Bostic had a game-high four assists.
Missed layups by Auburn and second-chance opportunities for Kentucky proved to be the difference. UK got 16 offensive rebounds, the most by an Auburn opponent this season, turning those into 13 second-chance points. In total rebounds, Kentucky had 43 to Auburn's 34. The Wildcats also scored 13 points off 15 Auburn turnovers, nine of those coming in the first half. Auburn was 18-of-54 from the field (33.3%) and matched a season-high with seven 3-pointers.
Kentucky led 20-10 after one quarter and by as many as 13 early in the second. But Auburn used an 11-3 run midway through the second period to cut the lead to as little as five; the Wildcats led 29-23 at the half.
The teams traded buckets for much of the third quarter, but a pair of layups from Jordan and Coulibaly cut the deficit to one at 41-40 headed to the fourth.
Kentucky's Rhyne Howard, who led all scorers with 29 points, scored 12 of her 29 in the final four-plus minutes to seal the win for the Cats. Jazmine Massengill added 11 points, including a key 3-pointer during UK's late run.
It's another quick turnaround for the Tigers as Auburn is back in action Thursday night at home against No. 4 Tennessee. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CT at Auburn Arena.
Tigers' comeback bid falls short to Kentucky
