AUBURN, Ala.— A’riel Jackson scored a career-high 19 points and Auburn overcame a 10-point second half deficit before falling to No. 16 Oklahoma 72-65 Sunday at Neville Arena.
“We want to be a team that’s undefeated at Neville,” Auburn coach Larry Vickers said. “We want to take care of home court. That Oklahoma team is really good. They lead our league in assists and rebounding. Our group did a good job of competing. I’m happy with the way we fought and competed for the entirety of the game. I’m proud of my group but we don’t believe in moral victories.”
Trailing by 10 midway through the third quarter, Ja’Mia Harris scored seven points to pull the Tigers within three before the Sooners ended the period with a layup to lead 53-48 after three quarters.
Harris and Mya Petticord each scored 12 points for the Tigers. Harissoum Coulibaly added 10 points and zero turnovers in 23 minutes.
Jackson scored Auburn’s first seven points of the final period, pulling the Tigers within two points.
“Our seniors are starting are starting to realize that there are only five weeks guaranteed of the season for them and they’re starting to knock it into overdrive,” Vickers said. “She was aggressive. She saw some coverages she liked. She’s super talented. She’s in the SEC for a reason. She’s built to take the bumps and when her jump shot is clicking, she’s super tough.”
Coulibaly tied the score at 57-57, leading to a Sooners timeout with 6:09 remaining and the home crowd on its feet.
Oklahoma reclaimed the lead with a jumper, but Coulibaly again evened the score at 59-59 with another drive with 4:50 to play.
The Tigers got a stop and had two chances on one possession to take their first lead since the second quarter but could not convert.
Oklahoma took control with a 6-0 run while holding Auburn scoreless for three minutes and 48 seconds until Kaitlyn Duhon ended the drought with a layup with 1:02 remaining to pull the Tigers within four. Duhon led Auburn with eight rebounds.
Oklahoma answered with a 3-pointer to seal the victory, taking a 68-61 lead with 45 seconds left.
Super freshman Aaliyah Chavez made four 3-pointers to lead Oklahoma (16-4, 4-3) with 18 points.
Auburn (13-8, 2-5) gets a fourth consecutive opportunity to take down a ranked SEC opponent when No. 2 South Carolina comes to Neville Arena Thursday at 8 p.m. CT.
“There are no days off in this league,” Vickers said. “Our team understands that. We can compete and hopefully those competes start to turn into Ws.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer