Basketball season is finally upon us. The Lady Tigers opened their season on the road with a gritty 71–58 overtime victory against Charlotte, giving Larry Vickers his first win as Auburn’s head coach.
And if you watched this one — or even just looked at the box score — you know this was a tale of defense, grit, and toughness. Auburn locked down in overtime, going on a 14-0 run to put the 49ers away.
Freshman Harissoum Coulibaly was a difference-maker, coming off the bench to score nine of her 19 points in the extra period while wreaking havoc defensively. She also grabbed five rebounds and collected a team-high five steals as Auburn forced Charlotte into 27 turnovers, turning those into 22 points.
“We did a good job early in quarters coming out with that intensity,” said Vickers. “Hopefully we can figure out a way to do that for an entire 40 minutes.”
That early intensity showed up in the Tigers’ signature runs. Auburn opened both the first and third quarters with 9–0 bursts that set the tone. And in overtime, they completely clamped down, holding Charlotte scoreless for the first four-plus minutes.
It’s what you’d expect from a Larry Vickers-coached team — fast, aggressive, and disruptive on defense. But what stood out to me most watching this game was how quickly his team bought into his identity. Auburn didn’t shoot the ball particularly well — just 34% from the field and 17% from three — but they outworked Charlotte in nearly every hustle category.
That’s effort. That’s buy-in.
“We have some resilient players on our basketball team, and they did an excellent job of being confident,” Vickers said. “This is our first time playing together, this is their first time getting adjusted to me. We knew we were going to make mistakes. How we played through the mistakes was important.”
Coulibaly and Ja’Mia Harris each scored 19 points, with Harris adding eight rebounds and three steals. Kaitlyn Duhon was also critical in steadying Auburn’s offense, finishing with 14 points, six boards, and four assists — all while going 7-for-7 from the line.
I also liked what I saw from Khady Leye, who filled the stat sheet with six points, four rebounds, and three blocks. She was one of several players who helped Auburn win the rebounding battle 42–35, including 18 offensive boards that gave them second-chance opportunities all night.
Where this team still has to grow is in the halfcourt — something I mentioned on my Lobtown breakdown. The offense at times lacked rhythm. Auburn had only eight assists on the night, relying a lot on one-on-one play and transition baskets. They’ll need better ball movement and spacing when SEC defenses start scouting them.
But when you’re forcing 27 turnovers and scoring 27 fast-break points, your defense can buy your offense time to find its groove.
“Charlotte threw a little 2-3 zone at us, and we stopped trusting our jump shot a little in the second period,” Vickers noted. “Sometimes in the scrimmages you don’t see things like this, but I thought we did a good job in the second half of adjusting to the zone, moving the ball and getting what we wanted.”
The bottom line? Auburn’s women showed fight, togetherness, and resilience in Game 1 — all things you want to see in a season opener. They didn’t fold when Charlotte made runs. They adjusted, hit 25-of-31 free throws, and finished strong.
The Vickers era starts 1–0, and if this performance is any indication, this team’s defensive mindset could make them a real problem in the SEC.
Auburn returns home Saturday, Nov. 8, for their home opener vs. Alabama State at 1 p.m. CT inside Neville Arena.