LEXINGTON, Ky. – Aicha Coulibaly scored 20 points, Sania Wells added a season-high 16, and Auburn never trailed in the second half while holding off a hard-charging Kentucky for a 71-68 win Thursday night at Memorial Coliseum.
Auburn took a nine-point lead to the fourth quarter, but quickly saw Kentucky chip away and pull within two points in the final minute. Wells made two clutch free throws to push the advantage back to four, the Wildcats answered with two of their own, and then Auburn turned it over with 15 seconds left to give UK a chance to win the ballgame.
Much like it did in Sunday's win over Ole Miss, the Tigers got a stop, fought for a rebound and won a jump ball with the arrow in their favor with one second left and leading 70-68. Honesty Scott-Grayson was quickly fouled, she made one of two, and time expired on Auburn's first win in Lexington since 2006.
"We didn't want to give up a 3," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said of the final defensive stop. "They ended up taking it, we didn't want to foul. I told everybody, 'you have to go and rebound.' I saw all five of them flying in there, we came out with it.
"It was a total team effort. We came out a little sluggish, but it got better in the second quarter. Then it was a whole lot better in the third. Both on the offensive and defensive end, we slowed down and started running some really good stuff, and we got the ball in the right people's hands."
Coulibaly's 20 points led all scorers and gives her 51 in her last two games. Wells' 16 was a season-high; she was 6-of-8 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. Scott-Grayson added 12 points and a team-best seven rebounds and four steals, and Jakayla Johnson had a stellar night at the point guard spot, dishing out a career-high six assists.
A back-and-forth first half saw the Tigers take a 38-35 lead to the break. Kentucky led 18-15 after one quarter, but Auburn opened the second period on an 11-2 run, moving ahead for the first time on a Scott-Grayson 10-footer to take a 21-20 lead.
That lead would balloon to as much as six at two different points, but Kentucky chipped away and retook the lead with just over two minutes to play. With the score tied in the final 30 seconds, Coulibaly knocked down a straightaway 3-pointer to put the Tigers up by three at the half. Auburn would never trail again as the third quarter was all Tigers as they extended their lead to as many as 13, taking a 59-50 lead to the final period.
Auburn's defense wreaked havoc, forcing 20 Kentucky turnovers that turned into 32 Tiger points. The Tigers also got 42 of their 71 points in the paint. Auburn shot 45.8 percent from the floor and hit 15-of-20 free throws (75%); Kentucky was 42 percent.
Robyn Benton led Kentucky with 19 points and Maddie Scherr added 16.
The Tigers are back at Neville Arena for their next three games, beginning Monday, Jan. 30, as they host the Florida Gators. Game time is 6 p.m. CT with the broadcast on SEC Network.
Auburn holds on for thrilling 71-68 win at Kentucky
