AUBURN, Ala. – With each Auburn basket, the decibel level at Neville Arena exceeded an Ella Langley encore as a record-setting crowd of 7,113, including thousands of schoolchildren, screamed its approval Tuesday on Education Day.
“That was an amazing crowd,” Auburn coach Larry Vickers said. “I joked on radio that we’re going to have to practice with the speakers on next year because the team couldn’t hear my calls. We appreciate Lee County School District for working with us.”
The largest nonconference crowd in Auburn women's basketball history at Neville Arena and the third-largest overall at the facility for a women’s contest gave the Tigers plenty of support as Auburn overcame a slow start to defeat Furman 74-56.
“We knew Furman was going to come in here and compete,” Vickers added. “They brought back the majority of the team, and we knew they were going to give us a test today with their experience.”
Phoenix Stotijn led Auburn with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including a 5-of-8 performance from the free-throw line. Zaniyah Williams added eight points, connecting on two 3-pointers, while Ja’Mia Harris finished with eight points and two assists.
Kaitlyn Duhon contributed seven points, five rebounds and two steals. Danielle Osho added six points and eight rebounds, while Quanirah Montague chipped in six points and seven rebounds.
“It was loud,” Stotijn said. “It was easy to get a little distracted, but it was a fun crowd. It’s fun to hear all the noise. I thought my performance was alright compared to earlier in the season. I could have done better turnover-wise, just handling that defensive pressure.”
Auburn grabbed an early lead before Furman erased it with a 7-0 run that Duhon ended with a 3-point play.
Trailing 13-12 after the first quarter, Auburn fell behind by five before ending the half on a 10-0 run.
Ashley Knox got it started with a 3-pointer, Syriah Daniels and Sania Richardson each made two free throws, and Harris ended the scoring with a transition layup, drawing a foul and making the free throw to give Auburn a 26-21 halftime lead.
Duhon started the second half in a manner familiar to Auburn fans, making a steal and layup.
Stotijn followed with a layup that put the Tigers up by nine, Auburn’s largest lead to that point.
Auburn took control with a 19-0 run in the third quarter, outscoring Furman 26-14 in the period to build a 52-35 advantage entering the fourth.
The Tigers stretched their lead to a game-high 23 points early in the final period. Stotijn scored eight fourth-quarter points, while Williams knocked down two 3-pointers to help Auburn secure the victory.
Auburn dominated the glass with a 50-27 rebounding advantage, including 19 offensive rebounds. The Tigers outscored Furman 38-24 in the paint and 27-3 in bench points while holding the Paladins to 31.5 percent shooting.
Clare Coyle led Furman with 22 points and six rebounds, while Alyssa Ervin added 19 points.
“We’ve had moments,” Vickers said. “I haven’t seen this team put together a 40-minute basketball game yet. That’s what we’re looking to see. I want us to lock in, concentrate, eliminate the turnovers. Hopefully that will come as we prepare for our next matchup.”
Auburn (3-0) plays its first road game Friday at Texas Tech at 6 p.m. CT at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock. Fans can stream the game on ESPN+, with audio available on AuburnTigers.com, the Auburn Athletics app and locally on ESPN 106.7 FM.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer