STORRS, Conn. – Taylen Collins scored her 1,000th career point, and Yakiya Milton had a career night, but early turnovers proved to be the difference as Auburn's season came to an end with a 69-59 loss to Arizona in the NCAA First Four.
The Tigers (20-12) fell behind early and made a few late runs to get within as few as two possessions in the fourth quarter, but the deficit was too much to overcome against the defensive-minded Wildcats.
"We had more energy down the stretch," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "We had a bad second quarter where we gave up too many drives down the paint. Our guards weren't hedging, and they were able to get down the lane. We had to help, and they kicked it back out for 3s.
"And we turned the ball over. We took care of the ball better in the second half. We had 17 (turnovers) in the first half, the second half we cleaned that up a little bit. But those first-half turnovers absolutely killed us."
Honesty Scott-Grayson, playing her 140th and final college game, led Auburn with 13 points despite dealing with foul trouble throughout. She also shared the team lead with three steals and pulled down four rebounds.
She finishes her career with exactly 1,600 career points at Auburn, good for 11th all-time in Auburn history.
"Honesty has grown. She has grown every single year she's been here. She came in (during the offseason) and told us she wanted to get us back to the NCAA Tournament. We rode her back for most of this season. I think she gave everything she had. That kid played to exhaustion."
Collins' first point of the night gave her 1,000 for her career across three seasons at Oklahoma State and one at Auburn. She finished with six points, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Milton, meanwhile, scored a career-high eight points in her first NCAA Tournament game and made highlight reels with three thunderous blocked shots. She also had three rebounds.
The Tigers had 17 first-half turnovers and fell behind by as many as 17 points midway through the third quarter. But an 8-0 run got the Tigers back within nine at 40-31, and the third quarter ended with a 10-point deficit at 49-39.
A Scott-Grayson steal-and-score at the 4:37 mark of the fourth quarter got Auburn within five points at 58-53. The teams traded baskets the next three minutes, and the deficit remained five at 64-59 with just under two minutes to play. But the Tigers would not be able to score again.
The Tigers used their size advantage to outscore Arizona in the paint 38-24 and netted 19 second-chance points off 17 offensive rebounds. But the Wildcats knocked down five 3-pointers, four of them coming in the third quarter. Auburn shot 39.7 percent from the field while Arizona was 47.8 percent. Arizona scored 23 points off the Tigers' 23 turnovers.
A defensive first quarter saw Arizona take an 11-8 lead through 10 minutes. But the Wildcats would extend their lead early in the second, forcing three straight Auburn turnovers that turned into seven Wildcat points, pushing their advantage to 20-10 with just over six minutes to play. Arizona led 27-19 at halftime.
Jada Williams led Arizona with 17 points, and Helena Pueyo added 16.
Auburn's season ends at 20-12 with their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019.
