The Little Rock women's basketball team dropped a 58-45 decision Sunday against Auburn at the Jack Stephens Center, sending the Trojans to 0-7 after their final home date of the 2023 calendar year. Little Rock trailed by as many as 23 early in the third period and by 20 entering the final frame before trimming the Auburn advantage to nine with 4:50 to play. The Tigers (7-2) was able to hold off the Trojans in the final minutes for their fourth consecutive win.
Jaiyah Harris-Smith scored a career-high 16 points for the Trojans and added five rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Tia Harvey – a preseason All-OVC selection – saw her first action of the season, playing 32 minutes and finishing with three points and two rebounds. Honesty Scott-Grayson led Auburn with 12 points and JaMya Mingo-Young added 11 for the Tigers.
For the first time this season, the Trojans finished with a higher shooting percentage than their opponents, connecting on 43.9 percent (18-of-41) while Auburn finished at 41.5 percent (22-of-53). Unfortunately, Little Rock only converted on 8-of-17 free throws, finishing at 47 percent from the line.
After the two teams battled defensively to a 12-9 Auburn lead after the first 10 minutes, the visiting Tigers pulled away in the second frame, using a 17-2 run spanning almost eight full minutes to move in front by a 32-14 margin. They would lead by 16 at the break. Auburn went 8-of-10 from the field in the second, including a perfect 4-of-4 from long range while the Trojans struggled to make just 3-of-11 shots over that span.
Auburn took its largest lead (39-16) with 7:54 to play in the third, but Little Rock answered with a 10-0 run that included a pair of buckets from Harris-Smith, two from
Mesi Triplett and one from
Faith Lee. The Tigers countered with six straight and went ahead by 20 entering the fourth. Little Rock scored the first five points of the fourth to cut the deficit to 15 and used that spark to build a 13-2 run that made it 50-41 midway thru the quarter. Harris-Smith and Lee both made a pair of shots during the run.
Little Rock will play its next six games on the road, starting with a Thursday evening contest at high-scoring Murray State. The Racers (5-2) rank second nationally in scoring offense at 94.4 points per game, trailing only Utah (96.2).
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