COLUMBIA, S.C. – Top-ranked South Carolina lived up to its billing Thursday night as Auburn fell 75-38 at Colonial Life Arena.
The Tigers kept things close for a quarter, but the Gamecocks pulled away early in the second and never looked back.
"We have to battle every possession," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "I thought we got our heads down, we took some bad shots. We have to follow the game plan. We took some quick shots that were not in our plan, then we took some bad shots. We have very little room for error, and we made a lot of those errors tonight."
Aicha Coulibaly led Auburn with nine points and nine rebounds. Honesty Scott-Grayson added eight points.
The Gamecocks pulled down 62 rebounds to Auburn's 25 and turned 24 offensive boards into 21 second-chance points. Carolina shot 43 percent from the field (32-74) while Auburn was 29 percent (18-62). On a better note, the Tigers had a season-low seven turnovers.
South Carolina led 39-21 at the half on the strength of 20 paint points, four 3-pointers and doubling up the Tigers on rebounds. It was a 7-point game at 20-13 after one period, but the Gamecocks opened the second with a 3-pointer, and Auburn couldn't get within single digits again.
Zia Cooke led South Carolina with 20 points. Aliyah Boston recorded her 18th consecutive double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The Tigers have two more home games this season, beginning with a Sunday morning showdown with No. 21 Georgia. Game time is 11 a.m. CT at Auburn Arena; tickets are available at AUBTix.com.
