The Auburn Women’s Basketball team is on a tear! The Tigers secured a gritty 58-50 win over the Cal Bears in Texas, extending their perfect record to an incredible 8-0.
This win was a true demonstration of coach Larry Vickers’ vision: you have to beat good teams like Cal (a previous tournament team) if you want to be a postseason team. The key to this victory was the defense, which held Cal to a season-low 34% shooting and marked the third straight opponent held to 50 points or less. The Tigers “locked in” defensively and made necessary rotations in the half-court set, helping control the tempo of the game.
Game-Changing Performances
The offense was led by A’riel Jackson, who set a season-high with 17 points. Jackson was a sharpshooter from deep, going a perfect 3-of-3 from the three-point line.
On the defensive end, Kaitlyn Duhon put on a show, racking up a career-high and team-season-high seven steals. Guard Khady Leye provided a consistent presence with 10 points and a team-leading five rebounds.
Room for Improvement
While I love an undefeated team, the Tigers will look to tighten up a few areas as they move forward. They shot the three-ball decently but need to be more consistent from deep. They also need to be more efficient on close-range attempts; they were only 6-of-14 on layups in the game, which is something they’ll be cleaning up in practice. Getting more than just six fast-break points will also be crucial for this team to finish out strong.
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