Tigers Drop First Game in Sin City Showdown

Honesty Scott-Grayson reminded the Auburn faithful why she has become a household name in the Tigers' loss to No. 5 Indiana on Friday.

Coach Johnnie Harris and the Auburn Women's basketball program had a Thanksgiving week that was far from the norm; instead of returning home for the Holiday or inviting families to the Plains to celebrate, the Tigers flew out west to do battle on the hardwood in the Las Vegas invitational.

Unfortunately for fans of the orange and blue, Vegas luck was not on the young group's side in its clash with the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers as the Tigers fell 96-81.

The defeat did not stem from a lack of effort on the offensive end of the floor. Behind the hot hand of redshirt senior Honesty Scott-Grayson, Auburn came out of the gates firing and keeping up with its seemingly unstoppable opponent stride-for-stride.

Auburn's standout guard lead her squad in both points (15) and rebounds (5) in the first 20 minutes of regulation, seemingly willing her squad to stay in the game despite a remarkable shooting display from the red and white.

Coach J's group headed to the halftime intermission trailing the Hoosiers 51-39.

As is typical for Indiana women's hoops, the Hoosiers returned to the hardwood with a renewed since of urgency on the offensive end of the floor and a heightened confidence to pull the ball from range, effectively forcing the Tigers to close out and abandon help defense.

The young Auburn group was not prepared to lay go down quietly; the Tigers attacked from range at a level the program has not seen in recent memory, shooting north of 45 percent from the field, over 40 percent from the perimeter and creating more space for household names such as Scott-Grayson and Aicha Coulibaly to drive to the bucket.

Despite the duo combining for 44 of Auburn's 81 points on the evening, the Tigers' efforts were not sufficient enough to bring the group within striking distance of the fifth-ranked team in college hoops. Indiana's field-goal clinic presented a challenge which was — simply put — impossible to overcome.

"I was a little disappointed in some of the undisciplined plays that we made," Harris said. "But — for the most part — I thought our kids battled. That's what I want them to do. I wanted them to battle and have a chance at the end, and I thought they did that."

Auburn will get its chance at redemption in the Sin City in fewer than 24 hours when the Tigers take on the Colorado State Rams in their final game of the showcase. Tipoff between the unfamiliar foes is set for 5:30 p.m. CT on FloSports and the Auburn Radio network.

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