AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) -- A 20-point night from Aicha Coulibaly was not enough to put the Tigers over the hump in Athens.
The Auburn Tigers (14-13, 4-11 SEC) fell 70-59 to the Georgia Bulldogs (20-9, 9-6 SEC) in their final road game of the 2022-23 season.
"It was a defensive battle," Auburn head coach Harris said. "And then free throws. Early in the first half, we turned the ball over, we had 12 turnovers at halftime. We took care of it a lot better in the second half, but we didn't get a lot of good looks."
The Bulldogs held a three-point lead after a defensive first half, but they shot 8-11 to start the second half and built as much as a 13-point lead. Auburn cut the lead down to five with just under two minutes left in the game, but the Tigers could not find the net again and Georgia capitalized at the line to put it away. The Bulldogs went a perfect 17-17 at the free-throw line in the second half.
The game was close for most of the way. The Bulldogs capitalized at the free-throw line in the second half to secure the victory.
Coulibaly’s 20 points led Auburn in scoring, followed closely by 16 from Honesty Scott-Grayson. Coulibaly also led the Tigers in assists with six. Precious Johnson led the team in rebounds with seven, and Coulibaly followed closely there as well with six.
Auburn shot 23-58 (39.7%) from the field, 4-13 (30.8%) from three-point range and 9-15 (60%) from the free-throw line.
Diamond Battles led Georgia in scoring with 21 points. Brittney Smith followed closely with 19 points. Alisha Lewis led the Bulldogs in assists with six. Javyn Nicholson led the team in rebounding with 10.
Georgia shot 23-54 (42.6%) from the field, 1-11 (9.1%) from beyond the arch and 23-28 (82.1%) from the free-throw line.
Getting the ball inside remained a focus for the Tigers and they executed successfully as 36 of their points came from inside the paint. Auburn’s depth even showed out a little bit as the Tigers scored 20 points from the bench to the Bulldog’s 18.
Auburn will be back in action this Sunday when the Tigers host the Vanderbilt Commodores (12-17, 3-12 SEC) at Neville Arena for senior day. The senior day ceremony for Sania Wells and Honesty Scott-Grayson is set to begin at 2:35 p.m. and the game is set to tip off at 3:00 p.m. CT.
