AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn built a big early lead and never trailed against Kentucky, hammering the Wildcats 78-50 Thursday at Neville Arena behind Taylen Collins' double-double and another 20-point outing from Honesty Scott-Grayson.
"We wanted to set the tone, we wanted to throw the first punch," Auburn coach Johnnie Harris said. "I thought we did that. We were super aggressive on the defensive end. We got production from different people. All around a good ballgame."
Collins scored a season-high 19 points and recorded her third double-double of the season with 11 rebounds.
"I was finding the little gaps the defense was giving me," said Collins, who added two blocked shots and three steals. "My teammates were doing a great job of finding me. I was taking advantage of anything I could."
Scott-Grayson led Auburn with 22 points, scoring at least 20 for the fifth straight game while grabbing eight rebounds.
"Just playing my role, taking those wide-open shots and getting my teammates involved," Scott-Grayson said. "Letting the game come to me."
Kaitlyn Duhon and JaMya Mingo-Young added 10 points apiece for the Tigers. Mingo-Young filled the box score with eight rebounds and team highs of six assists and four steals.
Auburn made 15 steals, forced 26 Kentucky turnovers and finished plus-23 in points off turnovers.
"That's just what we do," Harris said.
Leading by 22 points at the half, Auburn pushed its lead to 25 early in the third quarter when Duhon made a steal and converted an old-school 3-point play to put the Tigers on top 45-20.
Kentucky outscored Auburn 20-17 in the quarter but the Tigers still took a 19-point lead into the fourth quarter and dispelled any notion of a Wildcat comeback with a late 13-0 run to lead by 30 in the final minute.
"I love how we finished," said Harris of Auburn's largest victory margin in SEC play since beating Alabama by 39 in 2019. "This is a resilient bunch. They get knocked down, but they keep coming back. They refuse to quit."
Scott-Grayson set the tone by scoring the game's first points on a layup. Her pair of free throws gave the Tigers an 8-0 lead while Kentucky missed its first eight shots.
Collins eluded a defender with a spin move and scored to give Auburn a 10-point lead midway through the first quarter.
"Taylen is tough. She's quick, she's athletic," Harris said. "I still think her best is yet to come. She's a big part of everything we do, especially on the defensive end. For her shot to fall, that opens things up for us."
Auburn led 22-4 after the first quarter, scoring 14 unanswered points during a span of 6 minutes and 23 seconds that ended early in the second quarter.
Sydney Shaw made a steal and passed to Duhon for a basket that capped the 14-0 run with Auburn leading by 20.
Collins put Auburn ahead 31-10 with a steal and layup. While the turnover totals were similar in the first half – 12 for Kentucky, 10 for Auburn – the Tigers were considerably more opportunistic, amassing an 18-6 scoring advantage off the miscues in the half.
Scott-Grayson ended the half the way she began it, scoring on a transition layup after Mar'shaun Bostic's steal for a 40-18 halftime lead.
"We knew we had to win this game and we had to follow the game plan to do that," said Scott-Grayson, who added four assists. "We executed. It's good that we came out on top. One of our main goals is making it to the NCAA Tournament. We know we have to get wins and that's all we're focused on now."
Ajae Petty logged a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds for Kentucky (9-16, 2-9).
Seeking to sweep the in-state rivalry season series, Auburn (16-8, 5-6) travels to Tuscaloosa to play Alabama Sunday at 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Auburn women rout Kentucky 78-50 behind Collins' double-double
