Jan. 22, 2017
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AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Senior Brandy Montgomery scored a game-high 22 points, but Auburn fell just short in a back-and-forth contest with Kentucky, 64-60, in SEC women's basketball action Sunday at Auburn Arena.
The Tigers (14-6, 4-2 SEC) saw a three-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the Wildcats (14-6, 5-2 SEC), who have now won four straight. The teams traded the lead nine times over the course of the game, including five times in the fourth quarter, but Auburn was unable to get a pair of key defensive stops late as Kentucky scored on its final two possessions to secure the victory.
"We knew coming into this game that it was going to be a defensive game where we had to get defensive stops," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "They're a very good team. They're good inside-outside. They can score both outside and inside. And we knew we had to play defense and had to stop them in transition as well, and we didn't do that at crucial times."
Auburn was a perfect 14-for-14 at the free-throw line, the first time for the Tigers to make all of its attempts at the line since Dec. 1, 2000, when they were 12-for-12 against Ball State.
Montgomery's 22 points led all scorers and marked her sixth 20+ point effort of the season. She also led the Tigers with a season-high eight rebounds. Katie Frerking added 16 points, and Jazmine Jones and Janiah McKay had eight apiece.
The Tigers shot 37.3 percent from the field but struggled the most late, going just 4-for-14 in the crucial fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Kentucky put up a 58.3-percent fourth period, moving ahead by as many as five points. Auburn was just 2-of-17 from 3-point range while the Wildcats knocked down seven treys. Auburn forced Kentucky into 19 turnovers, turning those into 23 points.
Trailing 26-18 with just over 90 second to play in the first half, Montgomery scored eight straight points ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" including back-to-back 3-pointers ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" to lead the Tigers on an 8-1 run to finish the half down just three at 29-26. Auburn would then open the third quarter on a 10-0 run and grab its largest lead at 36-29 just two minutes into the period.
Kentucky answered, rallying to pull even at 42-all with a minute to go in the third and trailed by just one, 45-44, at the end of three. The teams then traded leads five times in the fourth quarter with Kentucky pulling ahead by five points with just over three minutes left.
Auburn rallied to tie the game at 58-58 on a pair of Montgomery free throws with 1:22 left, but the Wildcats would answer again, scoring on each of their final two possessions to secure the victory.
"We didn't get stops," Williams-Flournoy said. "We didn't get stops, so they hit some shots. Our defense got a little bit out of position. We didn't get stops and then we came down and the offense was a little stagnant and we didn't score. So, if you're not getting stops and you're not scoring, it leads to a very bad game."
Maci Morris led Kentucky with 18 points and nine rebounds while Makayla Epps added 17 points and seven boards.
The Tigers hit the road for four of their next five games, beginning with a Thursday night tilt at Missouri. Game time is 7 p.m. from Mizzou Arena.