AUBURN, Ala.—Auburn used a big third quarter to pull away from Alabama State for an 82-41 win Saturday afternoon in the women’s basketball home opener at Neville Arena.
Mya Petticord led three Tigers in double figures as Auburn (2-0) turned defense into offense throughout the game to cruise to their 24th straight win over Alabama State (0-2).
“I thought we did a good job being at home, being comfortable in our home gym, making the right shots and making the right passes to lead the shot,” Auburn head coach Larry Vickers said. “I think when we score early, it settles us down defensively, and we did a good job of that. We checked pretty much all our game goals – steals, turnovers, assists. So I thought they did a really good job.
“In games like these… I’ve coached a lot on the other end. There’s an in-state component to it. I knew we were going to see a better team than Georgia saw on Monday. I thought we did a good job of rattling them in some places and being a lot of places on the floor.”
Petticord scored 21 points – her second career game with 20-plus – hitting 7-of-10 attempts from the floor, including 3-of-4 3-point tries. She also shared the team lead with four assists.
Ja’Mia Harris continued her strong start to the season with a 16-point afternoon, hitting 4-of-6 3-point tries. Kaitlyn Duhon had her second straight 14-point game and stuffed the stat sheet with five steals, four rebounds and three assists. And A’riel Jackson found success in all phases with eight points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Leading 37-23 at halftime, Auburn opened the third quarter on a 14-0 run that ballooned to a 27-4 margin in the period, pushing their lead to 64-27 after three. The Tigers’ defense stood tall in that quarter, forcing 12 Hornet turnovers that led to 16 points and holding ASU without a field goal in the period.
For the game, Auburn forced 29 ASU turnovers that led to 30 points. The Tigers scored 22 points on the fast break and dominated the paint, 42-16.
Offensively, the Tigers shot 42.1 percent (32-76) and held ASU to 26.9 percent (14-52). The Hornets made four 3-pointers in the first half but did not connect again from long range.
Arek Angui, in her Auburn debut, led the Tigers with eight rebounds along with a pair of blocks. Khady Leye had three blocks, and 5-5 Sania Richardson added a rejection of her own. Angui, Angena Belloso and Clara Koulibaly scored their first points as Tigers.
It’s a quick turnaround as Auburn is back in action Monday night at home against UNC Greensboro for Military Appreciation Night. Game time is 6 p.m. CT at Neville Arena.