NICE, France – Auburn women's basketball finished off a perfect trip to Europe with a 64-59 win over a tough Monaco club Tuesday night.
The Tigers went 3-0 with wins in Paris, Switzerland and Nice on their 11-day European trip and will return stateside Wednesday.
"Absolutely happy about finishing 3-0," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "It was a very physical, aggressive game. They didn't worry about anything else but playing. They played hard, they fought hard. It wasn't our best night, we turned the ball over too much, but I thought we got better. We held that team to 59 points, and from what I hear, that's a good, high-scoring team. Our team locked in and played well.
"We made some adjustments on the on-ball screens, and down the stretch, we got into their legs so they missed shots. We went and got the rebounds and finished it out.
Honesty Scott-Grayson led the Tigers with 12 points and four assists while Mar'Shaun Bostic and Kaitlyn Duhon both hit double figures with 10 points apiece. Taylen Collins added nine, and Savannah Scott had eight.
Oyindamola Akinbolawa was a force under the basket in the second half with a team-best nine rebounds and six points, all coming after halftime. Bostic added seven boards, Duhon had five steals and McKenna Eddings had four steals.
A back-and-forth first half saw the Tigers lead 20-16 after one quarter but Monaco, one of the top clubs in the third tier of French professional basketball, cut the advantage to two at the break at 37-35.
Auburn opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run to push the lead to nine and led 51-44 after three. The advantage would hit double figures early in the fourth at 56-46, but Monaco cut it to a five-point game with just over three minutes to play. However, neither team was able to make a run late as each side hit just one shot in the final three minutes, and Auburn held on for the win.
Auburn shot 38.6 percent for the game and was 8-of-12 at the free throw line. The Tigers outrebounded Monaco 46-36 and turned 27 turnovers into 22 points.
Harris believes the trip was beneficial for her team, both from an educational standpoint and growth as a team.
"I found out a lot about my team," Harris said. "We've got some tough kids. They adjusted well and played hard. They're very coachable. This is a fun group, it was a good trip, and I thought we got a lot out of it both on and off the court."
Auburn goes 3-0 in Europe with hard-fought win over Monaco
