AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn's Honesty Scott-Grayson scored all 17 of her points in the second half to lead Auburn to a 69-62 comeback win over Washington State Wednesday afternoon at Neville Arena, the Tigers' seventh consecutive victory.
"Extreme intensity. I told them in shootaround that's what we were going to have to have to win this game," Auburn coach Johnnie Harris said. "I thought they played their hearts out."
JaMya Mingo-Young flirted with a triple-double, scoring 12 points and leading Auburn with seven assists and seven rebounds.
"That's my job, to push tempo," Mingo-Young said. "Get downhill and attack them. I knew I was going to have to help rebound. It's important as a point guard, being able to make an impact everywhere."
A halftime discussion between Harris and Scott-Grayson motivated Auburn's veteran star.
"She gave me a good talking to, telling me that I needed to look for my shots," Scott-Grayson "That's what got me going in the second half. I was telling myself to relax. We didn't have any doubt in our minds."
Trailing by six at halftime, Auburn grabbed the lead with a 9-2 run, going up 35-34 on Scott-Grayson's 3-pointer.
The lead changed hands thrice more before Auburn ended the quarter with a 6-0 run to take a five-point advantage into the fourth quarter.
After Scott-Grayson hit a pair of free throws, Mingo-Young made a steal and passed to Scott-Grayson in transition for a layup before Taylen Collins ended the quarter with a jumper from the free-throw line. Collins scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Scott-Grayson scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, then added a 3-pointer with 4:29 to play to put the Tigers ahead by 10 before Washington State hit a pair of 3s to pull within four points with 37 seconds to play.
Auburn made its last five shots from the floor and made 8 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter to hold off the visitors from the Pac-12.
"They take adjustments that we make at halftime and they execute it," Harris said. "I'm really pleased about that. This team is a work in progress. This team is really selfless."
Washington State made 3 of 4 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 20-13 lead. Charlisse Leger-Walker had five assists for the Cougars in the opening quarter and nearly tallied a triple-double, scoring 12 points, dishing 10 assists and grabbing nine rebounds.
Trailing by nine early in the second quarter, Auburn erased the deficit, pulling within two points on Kaitlyn Duhon's 3-pointer and tying the score at 26-26 on Mingo-Young's jumper after a WSU turnover.
The Cougars ended the half on a 6-0 run to lead 32-26 at the half.
Auburn forced 20 turnovers and outscored the Cougars 23-14 in points off turnovers.
"It has been big," Harris said of Auburn's penchant for takeaways. "I started off in a defensive system so that's in my blood. I believe in it wholeheartedly. If you're not having a good offensive game, you can always guard. That's about your toughness. That's what I built this team around. It's good to see them starting to look like the team I envisioned for Auburn basketball."
Auburn (10-2) will break for Christmas before ringing in the new year vs. North Alabama on Sunday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. CT.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
