AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn forced a whopping 29 turnovers and used balance scoring to rout Clemson 83-53 in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge Thursday at Neville Arena.
"Our kids played hard," Auburn coach Johnnie Harris said. "Our message to them was play our game, play our style of play, impose your will. I wanted them to set the tone and I thought they did that. Normally we let up. I didn't think we let up tonight."
Honesty Scott-Grayson led Auburn with 18 points, JaMya Mingo-Young scored 16 points in 17 minutes, Sydney Shaw made three 3-pointers and scored 11 points, and Kaitlyn Duhon added 10.
"Doing what I can to help the team, following the game plan and being patient and poised," said Scott-Grayson, who added five assists and five steals.
Wearing orange uniforms for the first time in nearly five years, Auburn outscored Clemson 29-4 in points off turnovers to avenge a season-ending loss at Clemson in March in the WNIT.
"We've been working on that, getting turnovers and going to score," Harris said. "Our kids love to run in transition. We do a lot of that in practice. They're used to that. After a stop, we look to go get a score."
"That really hurt us last year, losing by one. They ended our season," Scott-Grayson said, recalling Clemson's 56-55 WNIT win. "We knew coming into this game we had a chance to make a statement and we did just that. I'm proud of the team for following the game plan and staying the course."
Leading by 15 at the half, Auburn blew open the game with a 10-0 run midway through the third quarter that featured two Scott-Grayson layups and a 3-pointer from Mingo-Young that put the Tigers on top 48-25.
"That's my job, to play fast but not in a hurry," said Mingo-Young, who was 3-for-4 from the field and 9-for-11 from the free-throw line. "Being ready when my number is called. When it's my time to go in, I know exactly what to do when I get out there. It felt good to get the win."
Auburn produced another 10-0 run in a 27-point the fourth quarter to extend its lead to 29 points thanks to 3-pointers from Shaw and McKenna Eddings.
Auburn outscored Clemson 17-4 in the first half in points off turnovers, making 11 steals and forcing 18 miscues from the visitors.
Shaw opened the scoring with a 3-pointer. Mar'shaun Bostic made one of her five steals and passed to Shaw for another 3-pointer that gave Auburn a 12-3 lead, forcing a Clemson timeout midway through the first quarter.
Scott-Grayson's 3-pointer gave Auburn a double-digit lead late in the first quarter before Clemson beat the buzzer with a layup to trail 19-10 after 10 minutes.
Duhon made all four of her shots in the second quarter while scoring eight of Auburn's 17 points. Her steal and layup with 9 seconds left in the half gave the home Tigers a 36-21 halftime lead.
Auburn (5-2) hits the road for its next two games, traveling to Birmingham to play UAB Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+ before playing at Little Rock a week later on Dec. 10 after final exams.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Orange Crush: Auburn women rout Clemson 83-53 in ACC/SEC Challenge
