AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn overcame a sluggish start to defeat Louisiana 60-54 Thursday at Neville Arena thanks to a pair of late 3-pointers from Honesty Scott-Grayson and big games from post players Savannah Scott and Taylen Collins.
"We came out flat," Auburn coach Johnnie Harris said. "After halftime we just battled. It wasn't a pretty game but the way they bounced back and fought down the stretch, I was really proud of them. We have to start better. I love the way they responded in the second half."
After Louisiana cut Auburn's lead from nine points to one with 4:13 to play, Scott-Grayson hit 3s on back-to-back possessions to put the Tigers on top 55-50.
"She's just a warrior," Harris said of Scott-Grayson. "She's always coming up with big shots and I have all the confidence in her."
In her second college game, Scott scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting while adding six rebounds.
"I work on all these things during practice," Scott said. "I went out there and did what I do, and I was put in a good position by my guards."
Collins grabbed 14 rebounds and came within one point of a double-double with nine points. Sydney Shaw added 10 points.
"I struggled a lot the first half," Collins said. "In the second half I started to relax, I started getting rebounds, that got my momentum going and it started to pick up for me."
Auburn outrebounded Louisiana 46-30 leading to a decisive 16-6 advantage in second-chance points.
Trailing 25-16 at the half, Auburn scored the first eight points of the third quarter to quickly erase Louisiana's lead. Scott scored four points during the run.
Collins' putback tied the score at 28-28 before Louisiana regained the lead with a layup and Collins gave the Tigers their first lead since the opening bucket thanks to an assists from Shaw.
The Tigers outscored Louisiana 21-11 in the third quarter while outrebounding the visitors 15-3 to take a one-point lead to the final period.
Auburn used an 8-0 run to take a nine-point lead with 6:22 before the Ragin' Cajuns answered with their own 8-0 run to trim the Tigers' lead to 47-46 before Scott-Grayson took over.
After missing their first four free throws, the Tigers made their next 14 from the line before a miss in the final minute.
The Ragin' Cajuns played a 2-3 zone, daring the Tigers to beat them with outside shots, normally a challenge Auburn would eagerly accept.
Auburn, however, missed its first seven 3-point attempts and trailed by 10 points until Scott-Grayson's corner 3 in transition with an assist from Mar'shaun Bostic cut Louisiana's lead to 16-9.
The Tigers compounded their issues by committing eight turnovers in the first quarter and going 0-for-4 from the free-throw line.
Savannah Scott provided a first-half spark, making 3 of 5 shots and scoring a team-high six points before intermission.
The Tigers trailed by a dozen late in the first half when Shaw ended Louisiana's 7-0 run with a 3-pointer before Bostic made it five straight points for Auburn with a drive down the lane.
The Tigers (2-0) play their first road game at Rutgers Sunday at 4 p.m. CT in Piscataway, New Jersey.
"We're playing five Power Five teams in the preseason," Harris said. "It's good for us to bounce back in a game like this now because competition is going to get tougher and tougher."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Strong finish leads Auburn women to 60-54 win over Louisiana
