Feb. 5, 2017
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Auburn's Katie Frerking scored a career-high 32 points, but the Tigers fell short at Texas A&M Sunday afternoon, 66-61.
The Tigers (15-9, 5-5 SEC) shook off a slow start and led by as many as five points in the third quarter, but Texas A&M (17-6, 7-3) made several key shots and was solid at the free-throw line down the stretch to secure the win.
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"They played hard, they continued to get after it," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "There were just some time-and-score situations we needed to complete. We got some really good looks and needed to make some of those shots. But (Texas A&M) got 20 offensive rebounds and scored 23 points off those. You're not going to win many games giving up 20 offensive rebounds."
Frerking was 13-of-22 from the floor and made three 3-pointers. She also attempted all four of Auburn's free throws in the game -- all in the fourth quarter -- hitting three. Frerking was also Auburn's leading rebounder with eight. Brandy Montgomery added with points, and three players finished with six.
Texas A&M was 18-of-23 at the free-throw line and outrebounded Auburn 49-28. The Aggies turned 20 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points. Auburn was only able to force 14 A&M turnovers, a season-low for an Auburn opponent, and converted those into a season-low 12 points.
Tied 47-47 after three periods, Montgomery hit a 3-pointer to give Auburn a 50-47 lead with 9:30 to play. But the Tigers would not score for the next six minutes while the Aggies took a three-point lead. Auburn got back within a point with less than two minutes to play, but the Aggies would not miss another shot the rest of the way, hitting their only field goal attempt and going 8-for-8 at the line in the final minutes.
A&M led 15-7 after one quarter despite seven turnovers. The Aggies had 22 rebounds in the opening period to Auburn's six. But Auburn opened the second quarter on a 14-5 run -- the first 10 points of which were scored by Frerking -- to take a 21-20 lead at the media timeout. A layup from Jessica Jones at the 5:00 mark gave Auburn its first lead of the day.
An Erica Sanders steal in the final 10 seconds of the half led to a Frerking layup at the buzzer, her 14th point of the quarter, to give Auburn a 30-28 halftime lead.
Auburn out-shot the Aggies, 41.0 percent to 35.1 percent, and both teams hit eight 3-pointers. The Tigers committed a season-low eight turnovers.
Danni Williams led A&M with 25 points, while Khaalia Hillsman added 17 points and 15 rebounds.
The Tigers continue their road swing later this week, traveling to Columbia, S.C., to face No. 4 South Carolina at 6 p.m. Thursday.