Dec. 22, 2017
By Scott Scroggins
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. --Tiffany Lewis nailed a 3-pointer seven seconds into the game, which was a sign of things to come, as Auburn opened the night on a 13-2 run and cruised to an 80-46 victory over Southeastern Louisiana Tuesday night at Auburn Arena. Lewis finished the night with 15 points, the most she has scored in her two years at Auburn, and was 4-of-7 from behind the arc.
Balanced scoring leads Auburn to victory
Lewis led Auburn's balanced scoring attack and was followed by Auburn's three leading scorers on the season in double figures as Daisa Alexander added 14 points, and Unique Thompson and Janiah McKay chipped in with 10 apiece.
It was the third time this season the Tigers have placed four players in double figures. The 80 points are a season-high for Auburn. Auburn also tied a season-high with 30 bench points as nine different Tigers put a dent in the scoring column.
Cleaning the glass
Auburn out-rebounded the Lions 39-22, including 19 offensive boards, and turned those into a season-best 24 second-chance points. The plus-17 rebounding margin tied the Tigers' best rebounding margin of the season.
Thompson led Auburn with a game-high 11 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end. She has now posted five games this season with double-digit rebounds and has recorded four double-doubles in her first nine career games, including three straight. The Theodore, Ala., native is the first Auburn player to record three straight double-doubles since Tyrese Tanner in 2014.
"One of the big things that we knew that we could do was crash the offensive boards, and I thought we did a really good job," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "We didn't convert as many as we wanted to, but we still got 24 points off the (19) offensive rebounds."
Auburn heads into Christmas break on a five-game winning streak
The win extended the Tigers' winning streak to five games, Auburn's longest winning streak since the Tigers won their first five games last season. Despite the hot streak recently, Williams-Flournoy said there are some areas where she wants to see her team improve.
"I think once again we still have to work on our rotation," Williams-Flournoy said. "(It) really isn't where it needs to be. And I think also our turnovers. We actually had 17 turnovers. That's too many turnovers. We can't turn the ball over 17 times. When you get into the Southeastern Conference, they're going to take those turnovers and turn them into points. We've got to do a better job of taking care of the basketball. So, our defensive rotation, moving, giving up those corner 3s, and once again, it's the backline. They've just got to learn how to move. We get stuck in the paint a little bit too much."
Auburn will look to make it six straight wins in its last non-conference tilt against Xavier (La.) at Auburn Arena on Dec. 28 at 6 p.m.