AUBURN, Ala. – Aicha Coulibaly led Auburn with 20 points and seven rebounds, but Missouri made 4 of 5 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to hold off Auburn, winning 62-56 on New Year's Day at Neville Arena.
"It was the little things that got us beat today," Auburn coach Johnnie Harris said. "Our team came back and played harder, they played tougher. We just made mistakes. We still missed shots that we have to make. That's part of toughness."
Missouri broke open a close game in the third quarter when Katlyn Gilbert made five layups and scored 11 points en route to a 10-point lead before Sania Wells' 3-point play cut the deficit to 48-41 heading to the final quarter.
The home-court Tigers rallied, with Coulibaly scoring in the paint to pull Auburn within five before Hayley Frank answered with a 3-pointer for Missouri.
Coulibaly raced down the lane, receiving a feed from Mya Pratcher for a layup high off the glass that trimmed Missouri's lead to 51-47 with 7:42 to play.
The Tigers made four straight field goals with Coulibaly and Romi Levy scoring to make it 54-51 at the 6:17 mark, but turnovers and missed shots prevented Auburn from getting closer, and another Frank 3-pointer gave Missouri an insurmountable 59-52 lead with 1:34 to play.
"We got the shots that we wanted, we just didn't make them. Then we didn't get to the boards to rebound those shots," Harris said. "We came off a shooter in the corner and gave them a 3. They hit a big shot."
Jakayla Johnson scored nine points and led Auburn with four assists with only one turnover while making her point guard debut. Wells added eight points.
"I had to take a big role," Johnson said. "I needed to do it for my team. I really wanted to be there for my team. I can be versatile. I can play the point and run the two."
"I thought she did a really good job," Harris said. "Not only did she do that, most of the time she was guarding either the point guard or the best shooter so that takes a lot out of you. She played a big role and it's only going to help her and us going forward."
Mar'shaun Bostic's steal and layup capped a 7-0 run that helped Auburn lead 13-10 after a first quarter that saw the visiting Tigers launch nine 3-pointers while making only one.
Auburn went cold in the second quarter, missing eight straight shots, while Missouri hit four straight to lead 23-19 midway through the period.
Auburn compensated by Johnson and Pratcher hitting 9 of 10 free throws in the quarter to trail 29-28 at halftime.
Frank led all scorers with 23, hitting 4 of 9 3-pointers. Gilbert added 14 points and four steals for Missouri (13-2, 2-0).
Auburn played its second straight game without second-leading scorer Honesty Scott-Grayson, who is day to day with injuries. Scott-Grayson averages 15.8 points per game and shoots 49-percent from 3-point range.
"I am really missing her, not only her shooting, just her presence on the floor," Harris said. "She can calm things down, she can create. She does a lot for us as well as scoring. We're going to make sure she's healthy and she comes back ready to go."
Auburn (10-4, 0-2) plays at No. 1 South Carolina Thursday at 6 p.m. CT before returning to Neville Arena next Sunday for Alumni Weekend against Alabama at 4 p.m. CT.
"We will get back and get to work and get better," Harris said.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Coulibaly scores 20, Auburn falls to Missouri in SEC home opener
