AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn fought back in the fourth quarter from a double-digit deficit but was unable to complete the comeback in a 70-65 loss to Mississippi State Thursday night at Auburn Arena.
The Tigers struggled at the free-throw line and saw the Bulldogs hit clutch shots from distance in the second half to secure their third straight SEC win.
"We didn't make our layups, and we didn't make our free throws," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "With a good team like (Mississippi State) that can shoot it, they're going to make you pay. I felt like we executed some stuff, we got into the paint and we got fouled, but we didn't make our free throws. That's just toughness. We've got to step up and make our layups and our free throws."
Auburn took 17 more shots than MSU but were 40 percent from the floor, 2-of-13 on 3-pointers and 13-of-25 at the free-throw line. Meanwhile, State shot 51 percent from the floor and knocked down 7-of-13 3-point attempts. The Tigers did out-rebound the Bulldogs 39-34 and controlled the paint, outscoring State inside 42-26.
Aicha Coulibaly topped the 20-point mark for the third straight game, leading the Tigers with 24. Honesty Scott-Grayson added 12 with eight of those coming in the fourth quarter; she missed significant minutes with early foul trouble. Sania Wells had a game-high six assists, and Scott-Grayson and Annie Hughes tied for the team lead with five rebounds apiece.
Auburn jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead, but then did not score for the next five minutes as State took a 14-11 lead after one. The Tigers were able to pull even late in the second quarter at 24-all, then cut a 5-point deficit to one at 29-28 with a pair of late buckets, including a steal-and-score from Wells to beat the halftime buzzer.
"Early in the first half, we were pressuring the ball, we were in the passing lane, we got some steals," Harris said. "Then we got a little tired, we started giving up back-door cuts, and they came back and made a run."
The Tigers were able to take the lead three times in the third quarter, their last coming on a Coulibaly free throw out of a timeout to put Auburn ahead 42-41 with just under five minutes to play. But the Bulldogs would end the third quarter on a 14-3 run to take a 55-45 lead to the fourth.
Scott-Grayson tried to single-handedly bring the Tigers back, scoring two straight buckets plus a free throw to cut State's advantage to 61-59 with just under 3:00 to play. But the Bulldogs would connect on their free-throw opportunities to push their advantage back to double-digits, and Auburn would not score again until the final 20 seconds.
Anastasia Hayes led State with 26 points and nine rebounds. Jerkaila Jordan added 18 points.
The Tigers will have the weekend off before returning to action next Thursday, Feb. 10, on the road at Arkansas. Game time is 7 p.m. CT at Bud Walton Arena.
Auburn comes up just short to Mississippi State
