AUBURN, Ala. – Redshirt sophomore Romi Levy had her first career double-double, and all 13 Auburn players scored as the Tigers ran away from Alabama State 88-49 Sunday afternoon at Neville Arena.
The Tigers (3-1) shot a season-best 50.7percent and got plenty of production from the bench, who scored nearly half of Auburn's points on the night.
"I told our starters, I'm not going to wait around for you to play hard," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "I went to the bench and found some people who wanted to play. I challenged them after the last ballgame that I needed more. Sania (Wells) gave me more, Romi came in, and we all know Romi can score, but what I absolutely love is Romi battling and getting on the boards. That's what we need."
Levy, coming off the bench, finished with a career-high 16 points and 11 rebounds for the first double-double of her career and Auburn's second of the season. She also filled the stat sheet with three steals, two assists and two blocks in just over 20 minutes of action.
It was just her second appearance of the year after she missed the entire 2021-22 season with a knee injury, and she turned in a career night.
"I worked so hard," Levy said of fighting back from her injury. "I just had to keep reminding myself to be patient, and my time would come. It's been a long journey, a lot of ups and downs. But I still have to work hard. I'm not there yet. But I'm happy now."
Aicha Coulibaly led all scorers with 21 points and matched a career-high with six steals; she also had seven rebounds. Sania Wells hit double-digits for the second time this season with 10 points to go with a pair of blocks. And freshman Sydney Shaw had a strong performance with eight points, a team-high six assists and two steals.
Auburn was 36-of-71 (50.7%) from the floor and hit eight 3-pointers, doubling their previous season-high. The Tigers also controlled the boards 43-32 and turned 26 ASU turnovers into 27 points. The Tigers' bench nearly matched the starters' output with 42 points of their own as every player on the team played at least five minutes with 12 of 13 playing 10-plus.
A 22-11 first-quarter lead turned into a 42-23 halftime advantage as the Hornets faced early foul trouble while Auburn shot 64.3 percent in the second period. ASU would never get any closer than 16 points, and the Tigers shot 60 percent in the fourth quarter. Junior Carsen McFadden put a bow on the win with her first career 3-pointer in the final minute.
Samiya Steele led Alabama State with 14 points, and Cordasia Harris and Ayana Emmanuel had 11 apiece. The Tigers improved to 21-0 all-time against ASU.
Auburn will face its first road trip and its biggest tests of the year so far as they travel to Las Vegas this week. The Tigers will take on No. 12/9 Indiana at 7:45 p.m. CT Friday, then face Colorado State at 5:30 p.m. CT Saturday in the Las Vegas Invitational. Both games will be played at The Mirage Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip with radio coverage on the Auburn Sports Network and streaming via FloSports.
Levy's double-double leads Auburn past Alabama State 88-49
