EUGENE, Ore. – Taliah Scott scored a game-high 28 points and Auburn clawed its way back from a double-digit deficit, but the Tigers were unable to finish off the comeback in a 70-68 loss at No. 23 Oregon Wednesday night.
The Tigers dealt with turnover and foul trouble all night and had a couple of cold stretches in the second and third quarters, but would not go away as Scott scored 14 fourth-quarter points and the Tigers’ defense stood tall to cut the final deficit to one possession.
“We got ourselves in foul trouble in the first half,” Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. “We had Taylen (Collins) and Celia (Sumbane) on the bench, then the third quarter we had DeYona on the bench. Taliah put us on her back. I challenged her to be a little better defensively at halftime, and she responded.
“We just got ourselves in a hole and had to dig out. We gave ourselves a chance at the end. Disappointed in the outcome, but you can point to offensive rebounds, not getting back a couple of times on defense, so there’s a couple of things I can point to that could have been game-changers.”
Scott knocked down seven 3-pointers and added four rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block as she was lights-out late in the game for the Tigers. She now has 15 3-pointers in her first two games as a Tiger.
DeYona Gaston added 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks, but missed significant time in the second half with foul trouble and played just 24 minutes.
“Playing that entire third quarter without DeYona really hurt us,” Harris said. “I have to credit Audia (Young) and Timya (Thurman) coming off the bench and giving us everything they had.”
Auburn shot 40.7 percent from the field and hit 8-of-17 3-pointers for 47.1 percent. Free throws kept the Tigers in it late as they hit 12-of-15, including 8-of-11 in the second half.
But 20 turnovers by the Tigers led to 19 Oregon points, and the Ducks out-rebounded Auburn 42-32. The Ducks shot 47.5 percent with 40 of their 70 points coming in the paint.
Trailing by 12 late in the third, buckets from Kaitlyn Duhon, Mar’Shaun Bostic and Scott cut the deficit to six at 50-44 headed to the fourth. A Scott triple on the first possession of the final period made it a three-point game.
But Oregon would push their lead back to double-digits with an 8-0 run, and the lead would be as much as eight with under three minutes to play. But a Gaston second-chance bucket, a defensive stop, and a foul against Scott while attempting a 3-pointer – all three free throws were made – cut the deficit to three.
The teams traded fouls and buckets down the stretch, and Scott knocked down another triple with a second to play to make it a two-point game, but there was no time left for Auburn to complete the comeback.
Despite early turnover and foul trouble, Auburn led 12-9 after one quarter. But the Ducks opened the second on a 6-0 run en route to shooting 73% from the field for the quarter.
Auburn pulled back ahead briefly, but Oregon would push its lead to 10 before Scott hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut it to a four-point game at 29-25 with just over two minutes left in the second. The Ducks would lead 33-27 at the break.
Bostic and Duhon each scored seven points; Bostic also had five assists. Gaston and Collins shared the team lead with six rebounds.
Phillipina Kyei, the Ducks’ 6-8 center, led Oregon with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Auburn stays on the West Coast for a Friday night contest at California. Game time is 6 p.m. PT/8 p.m. CT at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley.