AUBURN, Ala. – Kharyssa Richardson and Aicha Coulibaly notched double-doubles to lead Auburn to a 66-55 victory vs. Florida Monday at Neville Arena, the Tigers' first three-game SEC win streak in six years.
Richardson established career highs with 15 points and 16 rebounds while Coulibaly added 14 points, 11 rebounds and a team-best five assists. Both players needed help getting off the court after hard falls but soon returned. Richardson played 35 minutes and Coulibaly logged 31 to help the Tigers improve to 11-3 at home this season.
"The career highs feel good," said Richardson, a freshman from Douglasville, Georgia. "The fall did take me out a little bit. I hurt my tailbone but I had to get back and shake it off."
"She was amazing," Coulibaly said of Richardson. "I don't know how many times I told her I was proud of her in the game. We need that from her every day. If we have Kharyssa doing all this, it's going to help us a lot going forward in the SEC."
"These two carried us," said Auburn coach Johnnie Harris, flanked by Richardson and Coulibaly in her postgame media session. "They were battling bigger players but they won their position. I'm really proud of them. They worked really hard this week to prepare for this game. I think the best is yet to come for both of these players."
Auburn's third conference win surpassed the Tigers' SEC win total from last season, with seven additional regular-season opportunities to earn more league victories.
"My team just played with an edge," Harris said. "They played tough, they were physical, they were aggressive. That's something we talk about every day."
Florida led by nine late in the first quarter before Auburn produced a 6-0 run on jumpers from Sania Wells and Sydney Shaw and Mar'shaun Bostic's drive through the Gators' zone.
Trailing 18-13 after the first quarter, Auburn locked down the Gators in the second quarter, forcing four turnovers and 14 consecutive missed shots during a scoring drought that consumed the final nine minutes and 32 seconds of the first half.
"Our kids pressured the ball, they helped each other, they covered for each other, switched, communicated, and did a really good job of going back and forth," Harris said. "It came together tonight."
Auburn outscored Florida 14-2 in the quarter to take a 27-20 halftime lead. Honesty Scott-Grayson gave Auburn its first lead with a jump shot. Coulibaly scored twice in the paint to help the Tigers end the half on a 14-0 run.
Ten minutes and five seconds elapsed between Florida buckets. While defense told the story of the second quarter, Auburn's offense led the way in the third quarter.
The Tigers made six consecutive shots while extending their lead to 16 points before the Gators cut their deficit to nine, thanks to five 3-pointers in the quarter.
Richardson scored nine of Auburn's 25 points in the quarter, helping the Tigers amass a 36-18 advantage in points in the paint.
"They did a really good job of taking what the defense gave them," Harris said. "I thought they made some tough layups and finished with contact."
Auburn outrebounded the Gators 52-40, pulling down their highest rebounding total of the season. Romi Levy added seven rebounds and seven points in 12 minutes. Wells and Scott-Grayson each added nine points.
Florida pulled within six points early in the fourth quarter before Auburn regained momentum.
Auburn made only two 3-pointers in the game, but the second – Sydney Shaw's 3 after a steal – capped a 7-0 run that gave the Tigers a 13-point lead midway through the final quarter.
Auburn (13-8, 3-6) remains home for its next two games. The Tigers host Arkansas Sunday at 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
"Our team is getting better," Harris said. "We're healthy and we're getting better. It always feels good being home."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Richardson, Coulibaly lead Auburn past Florida for 3rd straight SEC win
