AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn sophomore Unique Thompson picked up her seventh double-double of the season, but the Tigers came up short in a 78-69 loss to No. 10 Tennessee Thursday night in the SEC opener for both teams at Auburn Arena.
The Tigers (12-2, 0-1 SEC) had trouble getting shots to fall, despite having 20 more attempts from the floor than the Lady Vols (12-1, 1-0). Meanwhile, Tennessee shot 54 percent from the field and pulled away late to secure the win.
"I thought we made some good runs to stay in the game," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "If we would have made a few more shots, we definitely could have won the game. We forced them into 23 turnovers. But one thing, we didn't score off those turnovers like we have been doing in our past games."
Thompson finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds along with two assists, two steals and a block in 36 minutes of action. All five Auburn starters scored in double figures. Crystal Primm had 16 points, Daisa Alexander added 13, and Janiah McKay had 10.
Freshman Erin Howard, making her first career start in place of injured senior Emari Jones, scored a career-high 11 points, including three 3-pointers, to go along with four rebounds.
Auburn forced Tennessee into 23 turnovers but was only able to convert those into 20 points. Neither bench was effective – Auburn's bench was held scoreless while the Lady Vols got just three points from their reserves. The Lady Vols also outrebounded Auburn 43-29.
The game saw eight ties and nine lead changes; neither team led by more than five points until the closing minutes. Thompson was a dominant force for Auburn in the first half with 13 points and eight boards at the half as the game was tied 35-35 at the break.
Tennessee went on a 9-3 run over the last four minutes of the third quarter to take a 58-50 lead into the fourth. But Auburn answered quickly with back-to-back 3-pointers from Howard in less than a minute to cut the lead to two and force a quick UT timeout. The Lady Vols would push their lead back to five points, but a 6-0 run with a pair of baskets from Primm gave Auburn a 62-61 lead with 5:41 to play. From there, though, Tennessee would never trail again, going on a 9-2 run over the next three minutes.
Auburn shot 34.3 percent from the field, the second-lowest percentage of the season, while Tennessee hit 54 percent of its shots, including a 7-for-15 (46.7%) clip from 3-point range.
Tennessee's Meme Jackson led all scorers with 27 points, including a 5-for-8 night from beyond the 3-point arc. Rennia Davis added 23 points and 14 rebounds.
The Tigers will hit the road for their next two SEC contests, beginning with a trip to Gainesville, Fla., to face the Florida Gators at noon CT Sunday. The game will be televised by SEC Network.
Tigers drop SEC opener to No. 10 Tennessee
