AUBURN, Ala. – The daughter of two Auburn basketball standouts, freshman Syriah Daniels carried on a family tradition Sunday at Neville Arena, helping lead the Tigers to victory.
Limited to a seven-player rotation by injuries to starters DeYona Gaston, Taliah Scott and Kaitlyn Duhon, the shorthanded Tigers defeated UAB 69-62 in Auburn’s first home game in 24 days.
“A good win and we will take it,” Auburn coach Johnnie Harris said. “Some people who aren’t used to stepping up had to step up and help us.”
Daniels, whose parents Shana Askew Daniels and Marquis Daniels are well known to Auburn basketball fans, made her first start, scoring 14 points and grabbing four rebounds in more than 30 minutes.
“I was always ready for the moment,” said Daniels, a hometown standout who starred at Auburn High School. “Coach Harris always told me to be ready, my time is coming. Today was just me displaying what I’ve been displaying in practice. Sometimes the pressure is high, everybody is expecting a lot. I just learned to play within myself.”
Taylen Collins led Auburn with 15 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season, going 3-for-3 in the decisive fourth quarter while playing nearly 37 minutes including the entire second half.
“We needed her to take over,” Harris said. “She has that ability, and I thought she did that.”
“We just needed to keep going,” said Collins of her second-half mentality. “Keep the momentum and the energy going.”
Celia Sumbane scored 14 points, grabbed five rebounds, blocked three shots and made two steals.
Tied 50-50 after three quarters, Auburn grabbed a two-point lead on Audia Young’s jumper before UAB answered with a pair of free throws.
Auburn scored seven straight points on two Collins’ buckets and Sumbane’s layup and free throw to lead 63-56 with 4:09 to play.
UAB made a layup with 1:19 remaining to trim the Tigers’ lead to 65-62 but Mar’shaun Bostic beat the shot clock, driving to her right from the top of the key and banking in perhaps the game’s biggest shot with 44 seconds to play, the Blazers would not score again.
Daniels’ jumper gave Auburn an early 10-point lead before the Blazers hit a pair of 3-pointers during an 8-0 run that pulled UAB within two points.
Daniels ended the drought for Auburn with an offensive rebound and putback, scoring half of Auburn’s 16 points in the first quarter.
“She carried us a little bit in the first quarter,” Harris said. “We had two 20-point scorers sitting over on the bench. I thought we had to figure it out, but they did.”
“In practice, she never shies away from any challenge,” Collins said of Daniels. “With her stepping up into this position, I knew she was ready for it.”
After leading throughout the first quarter, Auburn started cold in the second quarter while UAB took a seven-point lead.
Daniels hit a jumper to end the drought, then eight seconds later, Sumbane scored after a steal to pull Auburn within a point at 27-26.
The Blazers built their lead back to seven points before Young, another second-generation Auburn hooper, beat the buzzer with a floater to trim UAB’s lead to 35-31 at the half.
Auburn began the third quarter with an 8-0 run, taking the lead on Collins’ layup after Bostic’s steal, then going ahead 39-35 on Sumbane’s 3-pointer.
UAB hit a pair of 3-pointers in a 10-0 run to reclaim a 45-39 advantage before Auburn outscored the Blazers 9-2 to tie the score after 50-50 heading to the final 10 minutes.
Taking a break from competition for final exams, Auburn competes next Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. CT on the road against Louisiana at the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana.
“It is a great thing that we don’t play (for 10 days),” Harris said. “The most important thing is to get some people healthy, and I think we’re close.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer