FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Honesty Scott-Grayson had her third straight game with at least 20 points, but a furious fourth-quarter rally came up just short in a 74-72 loss to Arkansas Sunday at Bud Walton Arena.
"I thought we played tough," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "We knocked down shots in the first half, we were right at 50 percent. I thought everything else was good except guarding (Taliah Scott). If we make our free throws… We were 13-of-27, we lost by two, and we left 11 points on the board."
A 31-point third quarter from Arkansas – 19 of those points coming from Scott – erased a nine-point halftime lead for the Tigers. But Auburn chipped away in the fourth, pulling even with less than a minute to play on a pair of Taylen Collins free throws, then tying it again on a Kaitlyn Duhon layup to make it 69-69.
Arkansas completed a three-point play with 37 seconds left, then got a stop and hit two more free throws to move ahead 74-69. Scott-Grayson knocked down a 3-pointer with 17 seconds to play, and Arkansas missed two free throws at the other end to give the Tigers a chance to tie or win the game.
After a missed layup and a review on the ball out of bounds, Auburn had possession under its own basket with 1.8 seconds left. A would-be steal for Arkansas saw the defender land out of bounds and give the Tigers another chance to tie with 0.8 to play. Mar'Shaun Bostic lobbed it to Collins, who caught it in mid-air in the paint and got the shot away, but it just missed as time expired.
Scott-Grayson topped the 20-point mark for the third straight game and the fourth time in nine SEC games. She was 10-of-20 from the field and made a season-high four 3-pointers while also recording five rebounds, four assists, three steals and a season-best three blocks.
Collins recorded her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds; she also led the Tigers with four steals. Celia Sumbane broke into double figures for the second time with 10 points.
The Tigers shot 39.7 percent (27-of-68), slightly better than Arkansas' 38.7 percent night (24-62). But the Razorbacks knocked down seven 3-pointers, two more than Auburn, and made 19 of their 27 free throws.
Auburn jumped out to a 17-6 lead after one quarter on the strength of converting turnovers into points; the Tigers had 14 first-half points off 11 Arkansas turnovers. Auburn led by as many as 15 in the second quarter before the Razorbacks cut it to a nine-point game at the half, 34-25.
But the Razorbacks could scarcely miss in the third, hitting 10-of-15 from the field including five 3-pointers as they outscored Auburn 31-11 in the period to push their lead to as much as 14.
Arkansas' Scott led all scorers with 33 points. She was 6-of-12 from 3-point range.
"We started trapping her (in the fourth quarter)," Harris said. "It's hard to trap this team because they have so many that can shoot the 3. They got going in the third quarter. (Scott) was shooting it quick. Most of the time we had a hand up, she just got hot and there wasn't much we were able to do with her."
After a Thursday night off, the Tigers are back on the road next Sunday, Feb. 11, for a showdown with the Missouri Tigers in Columbia, Mo. Game time is 1 p.m. CT at Mizzou Arena.
Auburn comes up just short at Arkansas, 74-72
