GREENVILLE, S.C. – Aicha Coulibaly scored 13 points and Sydney Shaw added 12, but Georgia used a big second quarter to pull away as Auburn fell 63-47 Thursday night in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
The Bulldogs outscored Auburn 26-15 in the second quarter, and despite the Tigers tightening down on defense in the second half, the offense was not able to make a significant dent in the Georgia lead down the stretch.
"We had a hard time getting good, open looks or finding a person that was open," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "We pretty much followed our defensive game plan. We just weren't able to score against their zone.
"I really felt like we had a chance in here. Other than that second quarter, we were in every other quarter. We relied too much on our 3-point shots, not working the ball enough. Other than that second quarter I thought we battled them. But we just have to be better."
Shaw was strong for the Tigers off the bench, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers. She also led Auburn with four assists and pulled down three rebounds, despite playing limited second-half minutes because of foul trouble.
Coulibaly led Auburn with 13 points and nine rebounds. Honesty Scott-Grayson scored seven points but contributed a team-high four steals.
Auburn could not get much going from the field, shooting 31 percent while Georgia – despite making just one field goal in the third quarter – finished at 43 percent. Georgia also hit five 3-pointers, their most in the last seven games.
A low-scoring first quarter saw Georgia eke out a 12-10 lead. It was still a two-point game two minutes into the second period, but Auburn went more than five minutes without a field goal while Georgia went on a 14-1 run; the Bulldog lead would be 38-25 at the half.
Auburn tightened down on defense in the third quarter, holding the Bulldogs to just one field goal, but could not capitalize as they cut into the UGA lead by just one point; it was 47-35 after three. The Tigers got as close as eight points early in the fourth but again went scoreless for five-plus minutes as Georgia pulled away.
Diamond Battles led Georgia with 18 points, and Alisha Lewis had a game-high 12 assists for the Bulldogs.
Auburn, at 15-14 overall, will now await a possible postseason bid. The NCAA and WNIT fields will be announced Sunday, March 12.
