AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn used tenacious defense and 21 points from Honesty Scott-Grayson to defeat Georgia 67-49 Monday, the Tigers' third consecutive SEC victory at Neville Arena.
"We came out on fire," Auburn coach Johnnie Harris said. "We were guarding really well. We got stops. Our kids came out ready to play. They were focused. Any time you can win by 18 in the SEC, it's a good win, so I'm happy with it."
Playing for the first time in eight days after knocking off LSU and Alabama at home, Auburn made 14 steals, outrebounded the Bulldogs 38-34 and held Georgia to 34.7-percent shooting to improve to 11-2 at Neville Arena this season.
"This place is a big advantage for our team," Harris said. "We feed off our crowd. Our players feed off that energy that you get from Neville Arena and I think the crowd feeds off our players. It's a really good home-court advantage. That energy fuels our team."
"It's been amazing these past few games," said Taylen Collins, who scored 13 points and added four rebounds. "Auburn has showed out. We feel all the love and support they've been bringing. We want to keep that going and keep the energy coming."
Mar'shaun Bostic led Auburn with five steals and four assists, adding five rebounds. Auburn forced 23 turnovers and outscored Georgia 17-13 in points off turnovers.
"Not everybody guards like us," said Kaitlyn Duhon, who scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds. "Not everybody plays defense like us. We're aggressive, we get in the passing lanes. We're making everybody uncomfortable."
Leading by 13 points at the half, Auburn extended its lead to 16 on JaMya Mingo-Young's 3-pointer. The Tigers missed their final seven shots of the third quarter while Georgia ended the period on a 6-0 run to pull within 10 heading to the fourth quarter.
Scott-Grayson rebounded a Georgia miss and drove the length of the floor for a pullup jumper to put Auburn ahead by 12 points early in the fourth quarter, and the Bulldogs never got within single digits the rest of the game.
"Trying to find the little gaps and finding the backside guard who was open," Collins said of Auburn's approach against Georgia's defense. "Taking what they were giving us."
Holding Georgia scoreless for the first 6 minutes and 50 seconds, Auburn took a 9-0 lead on Bostic's steal and layup, one of her four first-half steals.
After the Bulldogs (10-10, 1-6) pulled within three points after the first quarter, the Tigers used an 8-0 run to build a double-digit lead in the second quarter.
Bostic grabbed a defensive rebound and sprinted past three Georgia defenders on a coast-to-coast layup, part of Auburn's 16-0 first-half advantage in points in the paint.
Scott-Grayson took over from there, hitting a trio of 3-pointers late in the half to give Auburn a 36-23 halftime lead after a 24-point second quarter. Scott-Grayson also led Auburn with six rebounds.
Seeking its fourth straight SEC home victory, Auburn (14-6, 3-4) hosts top-ranked South Carolina Thursday at 7 p.m. CT at Neville Arena.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Auburn beats Georgia 67-49 for third straight SEC home win
