AUBURN, Ala. – Returning to the court for the first time in 12 days, the Auburn women's basketball team picked up a 71-59 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette at Auburn Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The win was the 10th straight home non-conference victory for Auburn (4-1), dating back to the 2016-17 season.
"We looked like we have been off for 12 days and needed to get back into playing," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "It felt like we were waiting to play the first game of the season due to how long we were off. We came out and did some good things, but we are a much better team than what we showed today."
Sophomore Unique Thompson recorded her third straight double-double and fourth of the season grabbing 13 rebounds while dropping 16 points; she also led the team with four steals.
"One thing she has definitely gotten better in is counter moves," Williams-Flournoy said of Thompson. "She has gotten a lot stronger, even more than her freshman year where everyone learned what she can do. She had to have more than one basic move, so she worked hard over the summer and during preseason to become a better offensive player. Defensively, we know she is going to rebound for us."
Freshman Robyn Benton added 15 points going 2-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line. Senior Janiah McKay finished with 13 points and six assists. Emari Jones had eight points and a career-high 10 rebounds, and Daisa Alexander finished with a career-high eight assists.
Auburn jumped out to a quick 15-5 lead behind five points apiece from Thompson and Benton in the opening five minutes. Louisiana (2-3) answered back to cut the Tigers' lead to four at 17-13 after the first quarter. Auburn again pushed ahead by as many as 12 following a Benton jumper with 59 seconds remaining in the half. Louisiana hit a late pair of free throws to cut the Auburn advantage to eight at the half, 34-26.
After the two teams exchanged buckets for much of the 3rd period, the Tigers began to pull away in the fourth quarter opening on an 11-3 run to increase their lead to as much as 16 points at 61-45 with just over five minutes to play. But the Cajuns answered back with a 16-5 run of their own to cut the Auburn lead to as little as five points with 1:25 to play. Auburn would force five turnovers in the last 85 seconds and took advantage of free-throw opportunities to seal the win.
The Tigers forced a season-best 26 turnovers, scoring 27 points on those takeaways. Auburn shot 44.3 percent from the floor and held the Cajuns to 33.3 percent.
Louisiana was paced by Ty'Reona Doucet, who finished with 13 points along with 13 rebounds. Brandi Williams finished with 15 points for the Ragin' Cajuns.
Auburn will hit the road next, traveling to Xavier University of Louisiana on Wednesday, Nov. 28. Game time is 6 p.m. CT at the XULA Convocation Center in New Orleans.
Auburn women earn 71-59 win over Louisiana-Lafayette
