AUBURN, Ala. – Honesty Scott-Grayson made a pair of tie-breaking free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining, then made a steal to secure Auburn's 78-76 victory over Vanderbilt on Senior Day Sunday at Neville Arena.
"For my last one to come out with a win is very important to me," said Scott-Grayson, who led Auburn with six assists. "Playing for our fans and our program, and most importantly playing for each other. It was a team effort."
After Vanderbilt tied the score on Ciaja Harbison's jumper with 34 seconds left, Auburn held the ball until late in the shot clock, hoping to minimize the Commodores' chances for a last-second shot. Scott-Grayson misfired on a 3-point attempt as the shot clock expired, but Vanderbilt fouled her when the redshirt senior landed, sending Scott-Grayson to the line for three.
After missing the first, she made the next two, then with Auburn pressing and Vanderbilt out of timeouts, Scott-Grayson tracked down a loose ball near Vanderbilt's bench as the game ended, racing to midcourt to hug her teammates to celebrate the dramatic victory.
Scott-Grayson and fellow senior Sania Wells combined for 28 points. Aicha Coulibaly scored 14 points and Kharyssa Richardson added 10.
"I wanted to get a W in Neville Arena my last time in here," said Wells, who scored 13 points in 19 minutes on 5-of-9 shooting including 2-for-5 on 3-point attempts.
The victory secured the first regular-season winning record for Auburn (15-13, 5-11) since 2018-19. The Tigers were 13-5 at Neville Arena this season.
"I thought our seniors set the tone," Auburn coach Johnnie Harris said. "These two (Scott-Grayson and Wells) have given a lot to this program, so we definitely wanted to send them out the right way. These kids battle. They give me everything they have."
Auburn started the fourth quarter on a 11-0 run to take a 13-point lead with 4:46 to play before the Commodores answered with their own 11-0 run down the stretch to tie the score at 76-76 with 35 seconds remaining.
Wells opened the run with a jumper. Sydney Shaw found Scott-Grayson in transition for a corner 3-pointer, then made a steal and assisted Kharyssa Richardson in the paint. Wells hit a 3-pointer and Coulibaly added a free throw to give Auburn a 75-62 lead before Vandy ended the run with a 3-pointer.
The Tigers led by 11 early in the second quarter but Vanderbilt outscored Auburn 27-15 in the period to take a 42-38 halftime lead.
Auburn erased that deficit by scoring 26 points in the third quarter with 11 coming from the free-throw line on 16 attempts.
Late in the third quarter Mar'shaun Bostic gave Auburn its first lead since the final minute of the first half with a pair of free throws. After the Commodores answered with a layup, Coulibaly's basket and free throw gave the Tigers a two-point lead.
The Tigers beat the Commodores for the ninth time in their past 11 meetings despite not making a field goal in the game's final 6 minutes and 20 seconds.
Auburn outscored Vandy 19-9 in fast-break points and 26-9 in bench points, including eight from Shaw, who enjoyed a perfect shooting day going 2-for-2 from the field including a 3-pointer and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.
The victory earned Auburn a first-round bye at this week's SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina. The 10th-seeded Tigers will play seventh-seeded Georgia Thursday at 5 p.m. CT.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Auburn seniors shine in 78-76 win over Vanderbilt
