AUBURN, Ala.— Improving to 6-0 for the first time in 17 years, Auburn shut out Rutgers for most of the third quarter and held the Scarlet Knights without a field goal for 16 minutes and 39 seconds to win 51-46 Thursday at Neville Arena.
“I was proud. I could feel the whole room wanted to win today. You could feel that we really wanted to continue this win streak. It affected us offensively,” Auburn coach Larry Vickers said. “They did a good job clamping down for 40 minutes. I’m really pleased with our effort. I’m super proud of this team.”
With Auburn leading by three points in the final minute, former Rutgers guard Mya Petticord secured the victory for her new team at the expense of her former one, driving for a layup that gave Auburn a five-point lead with 10 seconds to go.
“I knew we needed a bucket. I felt like that left lane was wide open for me. I took it to the basket and did what we were supposed to do,” said Petticord, who scored all 12 of her points in the second half. “It was a personal one, but it was fun.”
Khady Leye led the Tigers with 14 points and shared the team lead with six rebounds. Harissoum Coulibaly added 12 points to help Auburn start the season 6-0 for the first time since 2008-09.
“It’s exciting,” Vickers said. “It’s always good to be at home and have your fans. We’re excited about this start. We can’t get up too high. We have a whole bunch of tournament teams coming up. We know we’ll have to be a little bit better and we will be.”
Trailing 19-12 in the second quarter after Rutgers scored seven consecutive points, Sania Richardson ended the run with Auburn’s only 3-pointer of the game.
Coulibaly’s steal and layup tied the score at 21-21 before Leye hit a jumper in the paint to give Auburn a 23-21 halftime lead.
After limiting Rutgers to three throws over the final 8 minutes and 19 seconds of the first half, Auburn took its lockdown defense to another level in third quarter, shutting out the Scarlet Knights for the first 8 minutes and 20 seconds of the second half.
The Tigers scored the final six points of the first half and the first 14 of the second half for a 20-0 avalanche.
“We did a good job communicating on the floor,” Vickers said. “I’m proud of the group.”
Kaitlyn Duhon’s steal and layup gave the Tigers a 10-point lead before Coulibaly repeated the feat with a steal and score to put Auburn ahead 35-21.
Petticord hit a pair of free throws for a 16-point Auburn lead before Rutgers scored its first basket of the second half with 1:40 to play in the third quarter.
The Scarlet Knights quickly cut Auburn’s lead in half with an 8-0 run before Coulibaly ended the quarter with a floater to help the Tigers take a 39-29 lead to the fourth quarter.
Taking advantage of five Tiger turnovers in the fourth quarter, Rutgers got within three points with 3:57 to play before Coulibaly beat the shot clock with a fadeaway jumper to put Auburn 47-42 with 2:20 remaining.
Rutgers again made it a one-possession game before Petticord’s game-clinching drive.
Leye, Duhon and Coulibaly combined for 10 of the Tigers’ 13 steals, helping Auburn force 21 turnovers while outscoring Rutgers 20-10 in points off turnovers.
“Anytime you can score in transition it helps,” Vickers said. “Our defensive identity is starting to develop.”
Zachara Perkins led all scorers with 15 points for Rutgers (4-2).
Auburn went 12 for 12 from the free-throw line, with Petticord hitting half of those.
After concluding its five-game homestand, Auburn (6-0) heads to Frisco, Texas, for the Hoopfest Challenge to play UTSA Monday at 4 p.m. CT and California Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer