It was a tale of two halves for the Colonials Wednesday night.
GW entered halftime with a 26-19 lead, paced by senior center Sara Mostafa, with nine points and senior forward Tara Booker, who added seven before the break. Their seven-point lead was the result of a late 10-3 scoring run on the first, giving the Colonials valuable momentum exiting play.
But Auburn exploded out of the half to open play in the second, echoing the Colonials with a 10-2 run of their own. As play began on the half, Mostafa turned the ball over to the Tigers, who utilized a fast break down the court to grab a layup in the opening 30 seconds. From there, the Colonials were held to just two points over the first nine minutes and 37 seconds of the half. Auburn pulled ahead at the 12 minute mark, and didn’t relinquish the lead for the rest of play on its way to the 55-47 final tally.
The Tigers limited GW’s looks in the second half- after shooting 40.6 percent from the floor before the break, the Colonials were held to just 25.0 shooting on the second, for a game percentage of 32.6. Auburn halved GW’s power in the paint, holding it to just six points from the paint after halftime after the Colonials put up 12 in the first.
GW attempted to answer its shooting struggles in the second with increased presence beyond the arc and at the free throw line. The Colonials shot 40.0 from the perimeter after the break, compared to 25.0 in the first, and answered a first-half free throw percentage of just 58.3 by going 7-for-7 from the charity stripe in the second. Mostafa continued to be the driving offensive force for the Colonials, adding 13 points, with junior guard Danni Jackson following close behind with 12 and Booker adding seven points and seven rebounds. But GW’s offensive push wasn’t enough to answer Auburn’s rally.
After shooting 25 percent from the field in the first, the Tigers earned a shooting percentage of 44.0 in the second, going 11-of-14 from the line. And after the Colonials edged Auburn in boards in the first half, the Tigers became more aggressive off the glass in the second, finishing play with a slight 39-38 rebounding advantage.
Auburn capitalized on 16 GW turnovers, turning them into 13 points. Despite the Colonials earning a four-point advantage on points in the paint, the Tigers used its 78.6 free throw percentage in the second to cement their victory.
The Colonials next host Radford Saturday at 2 p.m.
