AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn fought back from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game in the closing seconds, but No. 24 Texas A&M scored with four seconds to play to give the Aggies a 69-67 win Thursday night at Auburn Arena.
The Tigers (15-4, 3-3 SEC) tied the game 67-67 on a runner by Janiah McKay with 17 seconds left, but the Aggies' Chennedy Carter scored the final two of her game-high 28 points on a jumper in the paint that proved to be the game-winner with four seconds left.
"I thought our young ladies played extremely hard," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "We continued to fight. We did everything we needed to do to win the basketball game, except at the end. We needed to make a stop at the end. Janiah did a great job to get us in the position to win the basketball game, and we needed to get a stop."
McKay led Auburn with 17 points while Daisa Alexander added 12. Robyn Benton scored 11 points, and Crystal Primm finished with 10 points and four steals. Unique Thompson led the Tigers with 10 rebounds.
The key stat in the second half was rebounding – the Aggies had 11 offensive rebounds in the second half that turned into 13 second-chance points. For the game, A&M out-rebounded Auburn 39-30.
Auburn shot 40.3 percent from the field and was 9-of-11 (81.8%) at the free-throw line. Texas A&M got to the line 28 times in the game, making 17 (60.7%); the Aggies shot 47.9 percent from the field.
The Tigers forced 21 turnovers – matching a season-high by Texas A&M – and converted those into 26 points. It was the 11th straight game for Auburn to force at least 20 opponent turnovers.
Auburn saw a 30-22 halftime lead evaporate in the third quarter as Texas A&M (15-4, 4-2) outscored the Tigers 25-14 in the period, shooting 71.4 percent, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range. The Aggies led 47-44 headed to the fourth.
A&M extended their lead to as many as 11 points and led 63-52 with under four minutes to play. But the Tigers chipped away, cutting it to six and then to three on a pair of 3-pointers by Alexander. After her second triple, McKay stole the inbound pass and was fouled, making both free throws to cut the deficit to one point at 65-64. A second straight turnover led to a game-tying free throw by Primm.
Auburn missed a pair of scoring opportunities, but the Aggies missed the front end of two straight free-throw opportunities, giving McKay the chance to tie the game late. But with no timeouts left, Auburn was unable to stop Carter's game-winner, and Alexander's attempt at the buzzer fell short.
Carter's 28 led all scorers. Kayla Wells added 19 for the Aggies, and N'dea Jones had 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Auburn plays its second straight ranked opponent Sunday when the Tigers travel to Columbia, Mo., to face No. 25 Missouri. Game time is 2 p.m. CT at Mizzou Arena.
Auburn's comeback falls just short against No. 24 Texas A&M
