GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Mar'Shaun Bostic put together one of the best all-around games of her career, and Auburn held on in a wild finish for a 77-74 win at Florida on the final day of the regular season.
Leading by three with 6.2 seconds to play, Honesty Scott-Grayson missed the second of a two-shot free throw attempt. Florida got the rebound, raced the length of the court and launched a desperation 3-point attempt, but Scott-Grayson blocked the shot from behind as time expired to secure the win.
Auburn led by four with 20 seconds left, but Florida converted a layup and-one to cut the lead to 75-74. Bostic was fouled in the frontcourt, made one of two, then Taylen Collins drew an offensive foul under the Florida basket with 7 seconds left, setting up Scott-Grayson's finish.
"We wanted to switch everything," Harris said of the late defensive stop. "Taylen got a big stop. We knew they weren't going to settle, they were going to drive because they had been getting a foul call. Taylen was the only one not guarding a shoter that could come off and help, and she got the charge.
Auburn saw a 10-point lead after three quarters shrink to as few as one in the final minute, but Florida was never able to overtake the Tigers as Auburn was able to overcome a season-high in turnovers and foul trouble up and down the roster.
Bostic scored a season-high 18 points and dished out a career-high nine assists to lead the Auburn offensive attack. She was also 8-of-10 at the free throw line. Scott-Grayson overcame second-half foul trouble to finish with 16 points along with five rebounds.
"I think it's her focus," Harris said of Bostic's play of late. "The thing Mar'Shaun wanted to work on was to be more focused, and she's been more focused in practice, in film sessions and coming off the bench."
McKenna Eddings had her second straight game in double figures, scoring 11 points to go along with five rebounds and four steals, both season-highs.
The Tigers led 64-54 headed to the fourth quarter, but Florida scored six quick points off four Auburn turnovers to cut the margin to four. The game devolved into a free-throw shooting contest down the stretch with Auburn just able to keep pace with the Gators lights-out effort at the line, along with keeping up the defensive pressure despite five players finishing with four fouls.
With the lead down to one at 70-69, Savannah Scott got free off a pick play for a wide open layup to push the lead to three, then a steal led to a breakaway layup for Scott-Grayson to put the Tigers back up by five, 74-69, with 90 seconds to play.
Auburn shot a season-best 56.3 percent (27-of-48) with five 3-pointers but also had a season-high 24 turnovers that turned in 28 Florida points. The teams were even on the boards with 31 rebounds apiece. Auburn's bench came up huge, scoring more than half the Tigers' points with 42.
The Gators were a machine at the free-throw line, knocking down 28-of-30 attempts. But Florida failed to make a 3-pointer on the day, going 0-for-18 from long range.
After a rough first quarter that saw the Tigers turn the ball over seven times en route to a 22-15 Gator lead, Auburn turned up the defensive pressure in the second, holding the Gators to just 12 points.
Trailing 28-24, Auburn went on an 8-0 run midway through the second, taking the lead on a steal and score from Eddings to move ahead 30-28 with 4:05 to play.
Eddings would hit another big shot later in the period, knocking down a corner 3 to push Auburn's lead to 37-32 at the 1:58 mark. Auburn led 37-34 at the half.
Leilani Correa led Florida with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Aliyah Matharu added 22 points.
Auburn will be the No. 7 seed in this week's SEC Women's Basketball Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina. The Tigers will play at 5 p.m. CT Thursday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena against an opponent to be determined.
Bostic's big day leads Auburn to wild win at Florida, 77-74
