AUBURN, Ala.— Ja’Mia Harris and Khady Leye combined for 29 points on 10-of-15 shooting, but No. 23 Georgia scored 18 straight first-half points to defeat Auburn 74-52 Monday at Neville Arena.
“I was completely disappointed today with our effort and our execution,” Auburn coach Larry Vickers said. “We’ve got to do a better job of taking advantage of moments, being hungry and taking care of the things we need to take care of, individually and as a team.”
Leye led the Tigers with 16 points, making 6 of 7 shots from the field and going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Harris made three of Auburn’s four 3-pointers and scored 13 points. Kaitlyn Duhon added 11 points.
A fast start and a strong finish to the first half helped Auburn mitigate the 18-0 Georgia run during a Tiger scoring drought that lasted nearly nine minutes.
“We have to do a better job of stopping the snowball,” Vickers said. “We want to be resilient basketball players, a resilient staff and a resilient team, and that’s one thing we haven’t gotten yet.”
After Harissoum Coulibaly scored on the game opening’s possession, the Tigers forced a Bulldog turnover and took a 4-0 lead on Leye’s layup.
Duhon’s 3-pointer midway through the opening quarter gave Auburn a 9-3 lead before the Tigers went cold, missing six straight shots while Georgia made six in a row and capitalized on Auburn turnovers.
With Georgia leading 21-9, Duhon ended the dry spell to pull Auburn within 10 points. The Bulldogs went ahead by 14 before Harris got hot down the stretch.
Harris scored eight points in the final two minutes of the half on a pair of 3-pointers and a left-handed layup. The 5-11 junior scored 10 of Auburn’s 23 first-half points, beating the buzzer with a 3-pointer that ended the half on a 7-0 run, trimming Georgia’s halftime lead to 30-23.
The Tigers cut Georgia’s lead to five on the opening possession of the second half on Leye’s putback.
A 9-2 Georgia run restored the Bulldogs’ lead to 14 before Harris hit her third 3-pointer of the night.
Leye scored eight of Auburn’s 15 points in the third quarter, including four in the final 36 seconds, to send the Tigers to the final quarter trailing 48-38.
Georgia doubled its lead in the fourth quarter, opening with an 8-0 run and outscoring the Tigers 15-4 before the media timeout, ultimately scoring 26 points in the final 10 minutes.
Points off turnovers, normally a reliable source of scoring for Auburn, favored the visitors by a decisive 28-11 margin on 17 Tiger miscues.
“We want to force more turnovers,” Vickers said. “That’s when we can score our best, when we’re able to force turnovers and get out and run.”
One of three Bulldogs in double figures, Dani Carnegie led Georgia (21-7, 7-7) with 17 points.
The Tigers (14-14, 3-11) close out their home schedule Thursday when they host No. 16 Kentucky at 6 p.m. CT on Senior Night at Neville Arena.
“We’ll get in here tomorrow, refocus, and reenergize,” Vickers said. “I know we’ll come in tomorrow with a better sense of urgency and attention to detail.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer