AUBURN, Ala. – Mar’Shaun Bostic and DeYona Gaston combined for 36 points and Auburn started and finished strong, but No. 7 Texas won 74-57 Thursday at Neville Arena in the programs’ first SEC meeting.
“Our kids battled,” Auburn coach Johnnie Harris said. “In the second half, we went to the zone and I thought they did a good job of executing it. We’ve got to keep working. I did see some improvement. I saw some toughness out of my team that I like going forward. We’ve got to get back in the gym and keep working.”
Bostic scored a season-high 18 points for the second straight game, adding six assists, five steals and four rebounds before fouling out.
“It’s good to see her hard work pay off,” Harris said. “She took what the defense gave her.”
Gaston, who played the previous four seasons at Texas, scored 14 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter on 6-of-7 shooting against her former team.
“It was good to see my people there,” Gaston said. “It was nice to see familiar faces. I tried to stay calm and collected.”
“She’s done a lot for them, no question about it,” said Texas coach Vic Schaefer of Gaston.
Harris worked for Schaefer for nearly a decade at Mississippi State and Texas.
“Johnnie is somebody near and dear to my heart,” he said. “She’s doing a great job and she’s had some injuries.”
Auburn outscored Texas 23-15 in the fourth quarter, shaving 11 points off a 25-point deficit on three occasions.
Bostic’s quickness helped Auburn keep pace with the Longhorns through the first quarter media timeout.
Bostic twice turned steals into layups, giving the Tigers an early lead, then tying the score at 8-8 with a brilliant left-handed bucket after swiping Texas’ sideline inbounds pass.
Texas capitalized on eight Tigers turnovers, finishing the quarter on a 10-0 run to lead 21-12 after the opening period. Auburn finished with 19 turnovers while forcing 17.
Oyindamola Akinbolawa, who led Auburn with eight rebounds, scored to pull the Tigers within six at the 7:03 mark of the second quarter but the Longhorns outscored Auburn 18-3 from there to take a 44-23 halftime lead.
Texas’ Madison Booker scored 17 points in the half, making 4 of 5 field goal attempts and going 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, finishing with a game-high 22 for the Longhorns (17-2, 4-1).
Trailing by 21 at the half, Audia Young made Auburn’s first 3-pointer in the third quarter.
Foul trouble plagued the Tigers, sending Bostic and Gaston to the bench for much of the third quarter while the Longhorns extended their lead to 25 points.
“We have a couple players sitting on the bench that we need on the floor,” Harris said. “We’re going to have to do a better job of playing without fouling. Sending them to the free throw line 23 times is not good.”
Gaston opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, then made a layup after Bostic’s fourth steal.
Bostic drove baseline and drew a foul on a layup, making the free throw to give Auburn an 8-0 run to start the quarter.
In her Auburn debut, Yuting Deng was held scoreless in six minutes.
“She’s had two practices,” Harris said. “She’s a kid with a high IQ. She probably has some nerves. She’s been really good in practice and she hits shots. Once she gets settled in, you’ll see the true Yuting. She works extremely hard. She’ll bounce back.”
Seeking to snap a six-game losing streak, Auburn (9-9, 0-5) hosts Missouri Sunday at 2 p.m. CT at Neville Arena.
“I feel like we’re about to turn that corner,” Harris said. “We’re getting some people healthy and they’re able to play harder and longer. Now we just have to play smarter. I feel like it will turn for us. Our kids competed and I think that will transition into our next game.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer