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BATON ROUGE, La. -- Auburn (11-8, 2-4 SEC) went toe-to-toe with No. 15/14 LSU (15-4, 4-2 SEC) on its home court, but a 19-4 run midway through the second half gave the Bayou Bengals the separation they needed for a 71-60 win. Freshman Brandy Montgomery led the Tigers with a career-high 22 points.
"We had our chances, but some bad turnovers, poor shot selection and foul trouble killed us," said Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "It is hard to do very much when your best players are sitting on the bench."
For the second game in a row, foul trouble gave the Tigers fits. Both Tyrese and Tra'Cee Tanner fouled out while Peyton Davis finished the game with four. Tyrese Tanner had six points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots in 24 minutes while Tra'Cee Tanner totaled eight points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes.
For Montgomery, her 22 points marked the first 20-point game for an Auburn freshman since Tra'Cee Tanner had 21 last season against Jacksonville. It is the first one against a Southeastern Conference team since Hasina Muhammad totaled 20 against Florida on March 1, 2012 in the SEC Tournament.
In a first half that saw eight lead changes and four ties, Auburn was able to edge out a 36-35 lead at the break. Montgomery tied her SEC game high in just the first half with 13 points. Neither team led by more than four points at any time in the first half.
LSU scored the first six points of the second half, but Auburn bounced back to tie it up at 41-41. The Bayou Bengals responded with a 19-4 run that gave LSU the lead for good.
LSU went on to lead by as many as 15, 60-45, with 7:03 left in the game. Auburn had some fight left, though, and cut the lead to as few as six, 62-56, with 3:46 left to play, but would get no closer as LSU responded with another run to take the win.
Theresa Plaisance led LSU with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Raigyne Moncrief followed with 15 while Jeanne Kenney added 12. Shanece McKinney also finished in double figures with 11 points.
Auburn will remain on the road as the Tigers travel to Florida (13-6, 3-3 SEC) for a Sunday matchup. The Tigers and Gators will tip off at 2 p.m. CT, from the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla., in a game that will air live on ESPNU.