Oregon Rallies Late to Hand Auburn First Loss in Top-25 Showdown
AUBURN, Ala. - In a clash between two undefeated squads, Auburn looked poised to defend home court after building a 14-point second-half lead. But Oregon had other plans. The Ducks stormed back with a dominant fourth quarter to escape Neville Arena with a 58-53 win, handing the Tigers their first loss of the season.
For Auburn, this one will sting-not just because of the final score, but because of how it unfolded. After leading by double digits and controlling much of the tempo, the Tigers unraveled down the stretch, and head coach Larry Vickers didn’t sugarcoat it.
“This game today is going to make us a lot better as a basketball team,” Vickers said postgame. “It’s frustrating in front of that great crowd to play the second half that we did.
We did a lot of crying, we didn’t play hard, we just weren’t focused, and it starts with me and my staff. We’ll be back and we’ll be a lot better.”
Auburn entered the fourth quarter tied 40-40 but quickly grabbed momentum again with back-to-back buckets from A’riel Jackson and Khady Leye. That early push gave the Tigers a four-point edge, but Oregon responded with the kind of run that flips games-and seasons.
The Ducks ripped off a 10-0 burst in just over two minutes, fueled by the backcourt tandem of Katie Fiso and Ehis Etute. Fiso, who poured in a game-high 24 points, was electric down the stretch, while Etute did it all-scoring 16 points and grabbing 15 boards for a statement double-double. Together, the duo accounted for 40 of Oregon’s 58 points, and their fingerprints were all over the comeback.
Jackson managed to stop the bleeding with a late-clock layup, but Auburn missed two critical chances to cut the deficit to one possession. Fiso made them pay with her second three-pointer of the night, stretching Oregon’s lead to 53-46 with under three minutes to play.
Still, Auburn didn’t fold. Leye hit a tough shot in traffic to cut it back to three, and Mya Petticord-who led the Tigers with 13 points-knocked down three clutch free throws with 14 seconds remaining to keep hope alive. But Fiso iced it with two more from the stripe just one second later, slamming the door on any final Auburn push.
Jackson led the Tigers on the glass with six rebounds, while Ja’Mia Harris dished out four of Auburn’s six assists.
The first half saw Auburn build a strong foundation, especially in the second quarter. After trailing 13-12 following a tightly contested opening period, the Tigers found their rhythm behind senior guard Angena Belloso.
The Spain native erupted for 10 straight points-doubling her previous season high in just eight minutes of action. She hit three layups, knocked down a free throw, and buried a three to flip a three-point deficit into a five-point lead.
“You could see her spark,” Vickers said. “When we get stops, she’s probably our best pusher in transition, our best point guard, finding people. We got stops in the second quarter, so you got to see how great she really is.”
Belloso’s energy was contagious. Kaitlyn Duhon drilled a three, Harris beat the shot clock on a drive, and Belloso capped it off with a defensive highlight-picking a pocket and finding Clara Koulibaly for a layup that pushed the lead to 12. Oregon managed to trim it to nine by halftime, but Auburn clearly had the upper hand through two quarters.
Coming out of the break, the Tigers extended the lead again. Petticord knocked down a three against Oregon’s zone, and Duhon added a layup to make it a 14-point game. But that’s when things started to slip.
Oregon’s defense turned up the heat, forcing five third-quarter turnovers and converting them into 10 points. Back-to-back steals led to quick layups, and the Ducks closed the quarter on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 40 heading into the fourth.
“That Oregon team does a good job forcing turnovers,” Vickers said. “Their press is similar to ours. We’ve got to understand that there are going to be scoring droughts and understand that as long as we keep playing defense, that lead isn’t going anywhere.”
Unfortunately for Auburn, the defense didn’t hold quite long enough in the final frame.
Now sitting at 8-1, Auburn will look to regroup quickly. The Tigers head to upstate New York for a midweek test against Syracuse in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Tipoff is set for Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT from the JMA Wireless Dome.