Auburn women's basketball is back.

Ahead of the season-opener against Sam Houston State next week, the Tigers defeated Tuskegee 81-59 in an exhibition match Thursday night.

Three true freshman were in the starting five, as Auburn's roster is mostly made up of underclassmen.

"I wanted to challenge them," said head coach Johnnie Harris. "We have a tough non-conference schedule, so they're gonna have to grow up pretty fast."

Kaitlyn Duhon, Sydney Shaw and Kharyssa Richardson all started in their first collegiate action, but time will tell if the starting five stays the same for the season-opener.

Shaw made a strong case to keep her spot in the starting . She dropped 13 points, led the team in assists and played more disciplined basketball in more minutes than any other freshman.

Both Duhon and Richardson compiled four fouls in nearly half the time on the court compared to Shaw, who only had three in 30 minutes of play.

"As the game went on, I just kind of forgot about everybody else and just played," Shaw said. "Got in my groove."

Aicha Coulibaly, who was the Tigers' leading scorer and rebounder last season, recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Romi Levy took the court for the first time since her freshman year after missing last season with an ACL tear. Now a junior, Levy played 10 minutes, scored four points and grabbed three rebounds as Harris tries to ease the forward back into the rotation.

Auburn will open its season at 7 p.m. CT against Sam Houston State next Tuesday on Nov. 8.