AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn fell in a deep hole in the first quarter and could never claw its way out as Ole Miss defeated the Tigers 72-52 Thursday night at Auburn Arena.
The Tigers played catch-up from the start and were mostly even with the Rebels through the final three periods, but the early deficit was too much to overcome.
"I didn't think we were aggressive offensively," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said of the Tigers' slow start. "I thought we passed open a lot of wide-open shots, and then we took some bad shots. We got better in the second half. But then we just didn't guard them, we gave them wide-open shots in that zone. We wanted to make them score over us, but we also wanted to contest outside, and I thought they got wide-open shots."
Honesty Scott-Grayson led Auburn with 13 points and six rebounds, and Jala Jordan added 11 off the bench. Xaria Wiggins made the most of her Senior Night with a season-high seven points. Mar'Shaun Bostic had a team-best four assists.
Ole Miss shot 50 percent from the floor to Auburn's 32.1, and the Rebels controlled the paint 34-18. Ole Miss also had 43 rebounds to Auburn's 21, scoring 17 second-chance points off 15 offensive boards.
The Rebels ended the first quarter on a 17-0 run to take a 19-2 lead after 10 minutes. After Ole Miss took a 23-point lead at the half, Auburn would get no closer until the final seconds.
Auburn recognized three seniors prior to Thursday's game as Annie Hughes, Kiyae' White and Xaria Wiggins were honored in a pregame ceremony, and Jala Jordan was also recognized by Coach Harris.
"Kiyae' has been a leader," Harris said. "It's unfortunate that she had a season-ending injury, but she's still been there. She's been vocal, she's been involved in a lot of things on campus. Annie lays it on the line every day in practice; I can't point to one day that she didn't give me everything she had.
"Xaria came here trying to help establish a culture and put in the foundation we had at Mississippi State; she knew what I wanted. Anytime I needed her to go in the game, she gave me everything she had. And Jala has been injured a lot, but she's given us some good moments and has played her best basketball this year. I really appreciate all of our seniors."
Snudda Collins led Ole Miss with 20 points, and Shakira Austin added 19.
The Tigers will wrap up the regular season Sunday afternoon on the road at Kentucky. Game time is 3 p.m. CT with a broadcast on SEC Network.
