OXFORD, Miss. – Auburn got off to a slow start and could not recover as the Tigers fell to Ole Miss 79-47 Thursday night in the SEC women's basketball opener for both teams.
Auburn (10-3, 0-1 SEC) struggled from the field throughout, and the Rebels (12-2, 1-0) controlled the paint and the boards to pull away for the win.
"They got us on our heels," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "We couldn't make a shot. Our shot just wasn't falling tonight, and then we were on our heels defensively. We had a lot of undisciplined and unforced turnovers, trying to thread the needle. Just a lot of mistakes that you can't make against a team like this."
"It was tough. Hopefully our freshmen and young players learn a lesson (from tonight). We're not going to make any excuses, but we've got to be tougher, we've got to be more physical. We'll go back to the drawing board and work on it."
Aicha Coulibaly, returning to the lineup after missing the last three games, led the Tigers with 13 points. Kharyssa Richardson had a team-best eight rebounds along with eight points, and Mar'Shaun Bostic added nine points and led the Tigers with three assists.
Auburn shot a season-low 25 percent from the field (15-60) and did not hit a 3-pointer for the first time this season. Ole Miss controlled the boards 53-37, and the Tigers were only able to score eight points off 15 Rebel turnovers. Ole Miss shot 45.6 percent (31-68) from the field.
Senior Honesty Scott-Grayson, who had led Auburn in scoring in seven of the last eight games, was unavailable for the Tigers while dealing with minor injuries.
Angel Baker led Ole Miss with 18 points, and Snudda Collins added 15.
Auburn rings in the New Year as they host Missouri for their SEC home opener Sunday, Jan. 1. Game time is 3 p.m. CT at Neville Arena with a national broadcast on SEC Network.
