Arizona Wildcats at Auburn Tigers
· NCAA Women's Championship - Regional 3 in Portland - First Four
Arizona women earn fourth straight opening win in the NCAA tourney, 69-59 over Auburn in First Four
Arizona (18-15) will move into the bracket as the No. 11 seed and will face sixth-seeded Syracuse on Saturday. The Wildcats improved to 8-3 in NCAA Tournament games under coach Adia Barnes.
Auburn (20-12) was making its 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2019.
Arizona's defense was the key to victory. The Wildcats entered ranked 22nd nationally in opponent turnovers, forcing 19.7 per game. Auburn’s 20th turnover came with 5:57 left in the third quarter before finishing with 23.
Auburn had 10 turnovers and just eight points in the first quarter before trailing 27-19 at the half after turning it over 17 times and shooting 32% from the field.
Arizona opened the second half on an 8-2 run, with 3-pointers from Esmery Martinez and Pueyo, to extend the lead to 35-21. The Wildcats led by 17 points, 40-23, before Auburn scored the next eight points to get within single digits.
Pueyo made Arizona's fourth straight 3-pointer of the third quarter for a 47-33 lead.
Auburn got within five points four times in the final five minutes, but could not get closer. Pueyo had a nice drive and pass to Skylar Jones, who finished a layup while being fouled to give Arizona a 66-59 lead. Jones grabbed an offensive rebound on Arizona's next possession and made a wide-open layup for a seven-point lead with 1:24 left.
Martinez made all five of her shots to score 14 points and Jones, a freshman, finished with 13 for Arizona. Forward Breya Cunningham fouled out with 7:37 left in the fourth, but Arizona responded at the offensive end with baskets on back-to-back possessions.
Honesty Scott-Grayson, averaging a team-high 17.4 points per game, was the lone double-digit scorer for Auburn with 13 points. She was 6 of 16 from the field.
How can I watch Wildcats vs. Tigers?
- TV Channel: Wildcats vs Tigers 2021 College Basketball, week 1, is broadcasted on ESPN2.
- Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
Recent Plays
| 4th 0:00 |  |
End of Game | 69 - 59 |
| 4th 0:05 |  |
Esmery Martinez Defensive Rebound. | 69 - 59 |
| 4th 0:05 |  |
Taylen Collins missed Jumper. | 69 - 59 |
| 4th 0:10 | |
Auburn Offensive Rebound. | 69 - 59 |
| 4th 0:10 | |
McKenna Eddings missed Layup. | 69 - 59 |
Statistics
 ARIZ |
AUB |
|
|---|---|---|
| 22-46 | FG | 23-58 |
| 47.8 | Field Goal % | 39.7 |
| 5-12 | 3PT | 1-7 |
| 41.7 | Three Point % | 14.3 |
| 20-30 | FT | 12-19 |
| 66.7 | Free Throw % | 63.2 |
| 25 | Rebounds | 37 |
| 6 | Offensive Rebounds | 17 |
| 19 | Defensive Rebounds | 20 |
| 13 | Assists | 11 |
| 13 | Steals | 13 |
| 4 | Blocks | 5 |
| 18 | Turnovers | 23 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 2 |
| 18 | Total Turnovers | 23 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 23 | Points Off Turnovers | 17 |
| 5 | Fast Break Points | 15 |
| 24 | Points in Paint | 38 |
| 21 | Fouls | 27 |
| 17 | Largest Lead | 0 |
Game Information
Location: Storrs, CT
Attendance: 533 | Capacity:
2023-24 Big 12 Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 15-3 | 2 | 23-10 |
| Texas | 14-4 | 3 | 33-5 |
| Kansas State | 13-5 | 2 | 26-8 |
| Baylor | 12-6 | 3 | 26-8 |
| West Virginia | 12-6 | 3 | 25-8 |
| Iowa State | 12-6 | 3 | 21-12 |
| Kansas | 11-7 | 4 | 20-13 |
| Oklahoma State | 7-11 | 8 | 14-16 |
| TCU | 6-12 | 9 | 21-12 |
| BYU | 6-12 | 9 | 16-17 |
| Texas Tech | 5-13 | 10 | 17-16 |
| Houston | 5-13 | 10 | 14-16 |
| Cincinnati | 5-13 | 10 | 14-18 |
| UCF | 3-15 | 12 | 12-17 |
2023-24 Southeastern Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | 16-0 | - | 38-0 |
| LSU | 13-3 | 3 | 31-6 |
| Ole Miss | 12-4 | 4 | 24-9 |
| Alabama | 10-6 | 6 | 24-10 |
| Tennessee | 10-6 | 6 | 20-13 |
| Vanderbilt | 9-7 | 7 | 23-10 |
| Mississippi State | 8-8 | 8 | 23-12 |
| Auburn | 8-8 | 8 | 20-12 |
| Texas A&M | 6-10 | 10 | 19-13 |
| Arkansas | 6-10 | 10 | 18-15 |
| Florida | 5-11 | 11 | 16-16 |
| Kentucky | 4-12 | 12 | 12-20 |
| Georgia | 3-13 | 13 | 12-18 |
| Missouri | 2-14 | 14 | 11-19 |