AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn made nine first-half 3-pointers and held off a late rally to begin the Larry Vickers era with a third consecutive win, defeating UNC Greensboro 64-57 Monday at Neville Arena.
“We did another good job today dominating the first period,” Vickers said. “They did a good job from the jump. We got the looks we wanted and we made shots.”
Mya Petticord made 4 of 7 3-point attempts and led Auburn with 18 points. Ja’Mia Harris added 11 points and a team-leading seven rebounds while Khady Leye also scored 11.
“We’re coming together really well,” Harris said. “From day one, we clicked. It’s all coming together.”
Petticord swished all three of her 3-point attempts in the first quarter, helping the Tigers take a 19-8 lead.
Kaitlyn Duhon twice turned steals into layups, and A’riel Jackson made the Tigers’ fourth 3-pointer of the quarter with 16 seconds left.
Jackson began the second quarter like she ended the first, hitting a 3-pointer that doubled Auburn’s lead to 22-11.
Harris joined the deep ball barrage, then Jackson splashed her third 3-pointer, the Tigers’ seventh of the half, to give Auburn a 14-point lead, its largest to that point.
The visiting Spartans used a 9-0 run to pull within five points before Auburn resumed draining 3s.
Harris ended the run with her second 3-pointer before Duhon concluded the first half with a triple that gave the Tigers a 34-23 halftime lead. All 15 of Auburn’s second-quarter points came on 3-pointers.
After the first-half fireworks, the Tigers attempted only one 3-pointer in third quarter, preferring to look inside to attack UNC Greensboro’s zone defense. Leye scored 10 of her 11 points in the quarter, helping the Tigers extend their lead to 16 points.
UNC Greensboro (0-3) opened the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run, pulling within five points at 55-50 when Vickers called timeout with 4:32 to play. Makiah Asidanya made five of the Spartans’ 10 3-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points.
Rylan Moffitt’s 3-pointer made it a one-possession game with 3:49 to play before Harissoum Coulibaly hit a baseline jumper to put Auburn up 57-53.
“She’s somebody we go to for energy,” Vickers said of the 5-10 freshman from France who made 3 of 4 shots and accounted for all eight of Auburn’s bench points.
“She’s such a phenomenal athlete. Nobody can stay in front of her. When she was needed, she did a great job.”
The Tigers missed their first eight 3-point attempts in the second half before Petticord put the game out of reach with her fourth 3 with 1:00 to play, the final points of the contest.
Auburn (3-0) remains at Neville Arena Thursday for a matinee against Mississippi Valley State, an 11 a.m. CT Education Day tipoff with 3,200 local school children expected to attend.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer