Dec. 9, 2017
By Scott Scroggins
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Three players scored in double figures for Auburn as the Tigers held off Louisiana-Lafayette, 70-60, Friday night in Lafayette, La., for Auburn's second-consecutive road win after winning 65-53 at Indiana in its last game.
"We knew coming in this would be a tough game," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "Getting 24 points in the fourth quarter, that was awesome. And most of that came from Unique Thompson. We wanted to get the ball inside, we wanted to attack the basket."
A Unique talentFreshman Unique Thompson recorded her second double-double of the season with a career-high 29 points and 12 rebounds. Thompson saved her best for crunch time as she scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, including 11 straight at one point, as the Tigers built a double-digit lead for the first time all night after leading by just four points entering the final period. For the game, she was 11-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
"After her first game at Virginia Tech when she didn't do too well at the free-throw line, we went back and made some adjustments," Williams-Flournoy said. "She's done a great job since."
Thompson's 29 points were the second-most ever scored by an Auburn freshman. Becky Jackson scored 38 against Iona on Dec. 13, 1980, to set the Auburn freshman record that has stood for nearly 37 years.
"I just realized that we had to finish the game, the game was way too close," Thompson said. "I knew I had to get my teammates involved, too. I told them to just get me the ball and I would score. I found my rhythm when I scored my two back-to-back baskets (early in the game), and I said, `Oh yeah, this is my night.' So I just took off with it."
Hot-shooting TigersIt may have been a frigid night outside, but Auburn scorched the nets inside the Cajundome. The Tigers shot a season-best 51.9 percent, including 8-of-13 in the decisive fourth quarter, against Louisiana-Lafayette. It was Auburn's best field-goal percentage since shooting 53.3 percent at Ole Miss at Feb. 11, 2016. The Tigers entered the game 13th in the SEC shooting 39.2 percent this season. Quick turnaroundAuburn will face a quick turnaround as the Tigers host Southern Saturday at 6:30 pm at Auburn Arena. Auburn is playing games on consecutive days at different sites for the first time since the 2003-04 season. That year, Auburn won at Army (West Point, N.Y.), 54-37, on Dec. 20 then followed that up with a 63-47 victory at Marist (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) on Dec. 21.
The last time Auburn played a road game followed by a home game the next day came in the 1996-97 season. On Feb. 2, Auburn earned a 60-59 win at Kentucky, then came home to face Jacksonville State the next day, a 77-46 victory over the Gamecocks.
"We don't talk about being tired," Williams-Flournoy said. "In all honesty, we're going to do what we do. We're going to press, we're going to play our 1-2-2, there's not really a whole lot of things that we're going to change."
Following Saturday's game, the Tigers will take a week off for final exams before returning to Auburn Arena for a Dec. 19 game vs. Southeastern Louisiana at Auburn Arena at 6 pm.