BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Honesty Scott-Grayson scored a season-high 22 points, and the Auburn women's basketball team held off a late UAB run for a 72-62 win Sunday at Bartow Arena.
Trailing by one after 10 minutes, the Tigers (6-2) went on a 14-2 run in the second quarter to open a double-digit lead, and UAB (6-2) would never get any closer than seven points the rest of the way.
"We played hard and imposed our will early," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "They came back, hit some 3s. We turned the ball over, then had a hard time guarding their point guards. They were getting in the paint, throwing their bodies into us and drawing the foul, and then they kicked it out late in the ballgame and hit a couple of 3s.
"I thought our length bothered them in the second quarter. Yakiya (Milton) came in and gave us a different look. Even if we got beat, she was there in the paint and we were able to get some stops. We played three post players, and they all did something to help us out.
Scott-Grayson hit for double figures for the sixth time this season, scoring her game-high 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting. She was 3-of-4 at the free-throw line and made the only 3-pointer she attempted. Scott-Grayson also led the Tigers with four assists.
"Honesty was just special today," Harris said. "She was a tone-setter. I was trying to keep the ball in her hands. She got a little tired because she was guarding their quickest player. She was doing it not only on the offensive end but on defense too. I thought Honesty did a really good job on (UAB's point guard)."
Mar'Shaun Bostic was Auburn's only other player in double figures with 12 points; she also had four steals, four rebounds and a pair of assists. Taylen Collins had one of her better games of the year, scoring eight points with a team-best eight rebounds, along with three assists and two blocked shots. Sydney Shaw also added eight points, and Kaitlyn Duhon – in limited minutes because of foul trouble – had six points and six rebounds.
Auburn shot 46.7 percent (28-60) to UAB's 29.5 percent (18-61), but the Blazers knocked down seven 3-pointers – four of them in the final period – to keep the Tigers from pulling away. The Blazers also scored 16 second-chance points off 15 offensive rebounds, despite Auburn out-rebounding them for the game, 44-36.
The Tigers were able to turn 17 UAB turnovers into 20 points, and Auburn controlled the paint, 38-20.
Scott-Grayson scored six of Auburn's first eight points to give the Tigers an 8-2 lead, but UAB finished the first quarter on an 11-4 run to take a 13-12 lead after one.
But the second quarter would be all Auburn, opening on an 8-0 run to take a 20-13 lead. UAB would score just once in the first seven minutes of the period, and the Tigers would lead 35-21 at the break after outscoring the Blazers 23-8 for the quarter.
An even third quarter saw Auburn lead 51-37 headed to the fourth. UAB kept pushing, knocking down four 3-pointers and going 9-of-10 at the free-throw line to get as close as seven points in the final two minutes, but the Tigers got stops when they needed to and made late free throws to secure their second road win of the year.
Jade Weathersby scored 17 points off the bench to lead UAB, and Denim DeShields added 16.
After a week off for final exams, the Tigers return to action next Sunday, Dec. 10, at Little Rock. Game time is 2 p.m. CT at the Jack Stephens Center.
Scott-Grayson's season high leads Tigers to road win at UAB
