Auburn Women’s Basketball opened its season on Monday night in Charlotte, N.C. against the Lady 49ers of Charlotte. After a gritty game that needed overtime to decide, the Lady Tigers emerged with a 58-71 win to start the tenure of new head coach Larry Vickers in the win column.
“We did a good job early in quarters coming out with that intensity,” Vickers said. “Hopefully we can figure out a way to do that for an entire 40 minutes.”
In the first quarter the Tigers started fast, opening the game with a 9-0 run thanks to major contributions from Kaitlyn Duhon, who had 4 of the 9 points. Following the run, the 49ers would call timeout to regroup. Charlotte would end the first quarter with 8 points, with Tanajah Hayes leading the 49ers in the category with 4. After the first 10 minutes, Auburn took a 13-8 lead into the second.
The second quarter would start with some 49er momentum as Hayes would nail a three to cut the Auburn lead to two. Then the floodgates opened following the big shot, as Charlotte surged back on a 7-0 run of their own and took a 13-15 lead at the 5:53 mark before a free throw for Auburn from Harissoum Coulibaly would end the run.
The Charlotte momentum wasn’t stalled for long, though. Karen Nimo got hot and drilled back to back three pointers, putting the 49ers up 21-14. However, the fireworks began to light for both sides as Hayes and Duhon traded buckets for the back half of the second quarter. At the end of the quarter, Charlotte took a 27-24 lead into the locker room.
The third quarter was owned by Auburn, especially early. The Tigers found their groove and went on a 9-0 run. However, the 49ers answered with a jumper from Caitlin Staley, followed by a three pointer from Karen Nimo. However, the Tigers held onto the lead, carrying a 46-42 lead into the 4th quarter.
The 4th would start with Hayes firing a three pointer to cut the lead for the Tigers down to one. However, Kaitlyn Duhon answered to keep the Tigers in the lead. The 49ers would not go away, though, forcing a 49-49 with 2:38 left in the 4th. The offense for both teams would duel till the 17 second mark when Asianae Nicholson would be fouled by Clara Koulibaly.
Nicholson went to the line, where she would sink both free throws to tie the game 55-55. After the free throws, the Lady Tigers called a timeout and Khady Leye would miss the three to win the game with three seconds left and send the game to overtime.
Auburn dominated overtime, going on a 13-0 run to establish control in the extra period. Auburn ended the game at the free throw line, with Harissoum Coulibaly finishing the game for the Lady Tigers by sinking the final free throw to end the game with a final score of 71-58.
The Lady Tigers will have their next game vs the Alabama State Hornets on Nov. 8 in Neville Arena. The game will be the first for Vickers at home as head coach of Auburn Women’s Basketball.
