NORMAN, Okla. – Auburn fought back from a double-digit deficit to take a lead in the final two minutes, but late free throws proved to be the difference as No. 16 Oklahoma escaped with a 73-71 win Monday night.
DeYona Gaston scored 24 points – 14 of them in the fourth quarter – to lead the Auburn effort. She went on a personal 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter, cutting a 10-point Oklahoma lead down to one in a span of 92 seconds.
With the score tied 71-71 and Oklahoma holding for a final shot, Auburn was called for a foul under the basket, and the Sooners’ Payton Verhulst made both free throws to move ahead by two. Auburn got the ball under the basket and got a look from Gaston, but it would be one of the few shots she missed on the night, and Oklahoma held on.
“We were looking for DeYona or Yuting, but we had Audia wide open,” Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. “I was screaming that Audia was open, and she makes that shot all the time. I think Taylen was thinking maybe D would get fouled, because they had been calling fouls like that all day. She had a good look, just missed it. But we were 14-of-22 from the free throw line, and we missed a crucial box-out and gave them an and-one down there.
“We fought back through some adversity. Mar’Shaun kinda took over, especially defensively, she jumpstarted us to get back in the ballgame. Having Yuting’s presence and having them hanging on her opens it up for other people, they’ve just got to make shots.”
After Gaston’s run to start the fourth, the teams traded buckets over the next five minutes. A Bostic layup put the Tigers in front for the first time, 66-65, with 3:30 to play. The lead would be as much as three at 70-67 with 1:41 to play.
But Auburn missed four free throws in the fourth quarter with opportunities to extend its lead, and Oklahoma managed to get to the line twice in the final minute.
Gaston’s 24 points led all scorers, and Bostic added 16 along with six rebounds and five assists. Yakiya Milton had a career-high seven rebounds, and Syriah Daniels and Yuting Deng scored nine points each. Taylen Collins had eight points and six rebounds in the return to her home state.
Auburn overcame a slow start to shoot 46 percent from the floor and matched Oklahoma on 3-point shooting as each team made five. The Sooners, hot from long range early, did not make a 3-pointer in the second half.
The Tigers out-rebounded Oklahoma 35-33 and turned 20 Sooner turnovers into 26 points. Auburn’s bench scored 37 points.
When Auburn scored in the first half, it scored in flurries. Held to just one bucket through nearly seven minutes, the Tigers scored 15 points in the final 3:10, paced by three treys from Deng to cut a 12-point lead to just four at 21-17 after 10 minutes.
The Sooner lead would swell to 12 once again late in the second quarter, but back-to-back buckets from Syriah Daniels and a Yakiya Milton tip-in cut it to as few as six at 39-33 with a minute to go. But the Sooners would score twice in the final minute and take a 44-35 lead to the break.
It’s a quick turnaround for another tough road trip as the Tigers head to Knoxville to take on No. 15 Tennessee Thursday night. Game time is 5:30 p.m. CT at Thompson-Boling Arena.