GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Daisa Alexander scored 22 points, Janiah McKay added 16, and the Auburn women's basketball team overcame a six-point halftime deficit to earn a 64-56 win at Florida Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers (13-2, 1-1 SEC) battled early foul trouble and shooting woes but turned things around in the second half, shooting 55.6 percent in the final 20 minutes and converting 13 second-half Florida turnovers into 25 points to pull away for the win.
"It's so hard when you get people in foul trouble, the rotation is different, you're out of sync a little bit," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "But we persevered. We continued to fight, they picked it up on the defensive end, and that really helped a lot. We knew we could turn them over, but we needed to score off those turnovers, and we did that today.
"Once Unique (Thompson) got back in the ballgame (after dealing with early foul trouble), we had to get the ball inside. We couldn't stand out there and just shoot 3s; that was not our game plan."
Alexander's 22 points were a season-high; she also led the Tigers with five steals. McKay added six rebounds, six assists and three steals to go along with her 16-point effort. The pair of Auburn guards combined for 25 points in the second half. Unique Thompson was the Tigers' leading rebounder with nine board to go along with eight points, and Crystal Primm added nine points.
After a dismal offensive first half that saw Auburn score a season-low 25 points and shoot 33 percent from the field, the Tigers shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) in the second and used two 8-0 runs in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win. The Tigers finished at 44 percent for the game while Florida shot 34.6 percent. Auburn also won the rebounding battle 34-32 and scored 31 points off 20 Florida turnovers.
"We had to just keep our heads and stay poised," McKay said. "That's the biggest thing going into the locker room, I just kept telling the team, 'We're fine, we just need to relax.' Our press wasn't where it needed to be in the first half, and I think that was the momentum-changer to the second half. We upped our pressure, we were composed, and we got a lot of points."
The Tigers trailed 17-16 to end the first quarter, but opened the second period on a 9-2 run and led 25-19 with 3:46 to play. But the Gators ended the half on a 12-0 run as Auburn did not make a field goal the last 7:25 of the half and trailed 31-25 at the break. The Tigers also dealt with foul trouble in the opening half as five players had at least two fouls by halftime.
Auburn opened the second half on a 6-2 run, then went on an 11-0 run over a six-minute stretch, taking a 40-39 lead on an Alexander steal-and-score with 3:37 left. The Tigers would never trail again, taking a 48-44 lead to the final period. Florida hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one early in the fourth, but the Tigers went on an 8-0 run over the next four minutes and held Florida scoreless for nearly seven minutes in the final period.
About 100 fans wearing Auburn orange and navy were on hand to support the team's two Florida natives, McKay (Gainesville) and Primm (West Palm Beach).
"It's so great coming back home," McKay said. "This game is a special one, and being my last one here, I'm happy we were able to get the win."
Kiara Smith led Florida with 15 points and Funda Nakkasoglu added 11.
The Tigers wrap up their two-game road swing Thursday night when they travel across the state to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama. Game time is 7 p.m. CT at Coleman Coliseum.
Auburn women fight back for 64-56 win at Florida
