KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Daisa Alexander matched a season-high with 22 points, but Auburn could not hold onto a halftime lead as Tennessee earned a 73-62 win Thursday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Tigers (18-7, 6-6 SEC) hit an equal number of shots to Tennessee and out-shot the Lady Vols from long range, but Tennessee out-rebounded Auburn 25-11 in the second half, scored 16 second-chance points and took advantage of multiple free-throw opportunities to secure the win.
"We kept talking about rebounding," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "We knew we had to rebound because they're a very good offensive rebounding team. They got 17 offensive rebounds and scored 16 points off of those. Unique (Thompson) can't be the only one in there rebounding. It was the same thing that beat us at Auburn, transition offense and offensive rebounding. If you take care of that, you can beat Tennessee."
Alexander's 22 marked her third time in SEC play to score that total, matching her output from the wins at Florida and Alabama. She also hit a season-high four 3-pointers and led the Tigers with three assists. Unique Thompson picked up her 11th double-double of the season and second in a row with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Janiah McKay added 12 points.
For the game, Auburn hit 27-of-65 attempts (42%) and Tennessee made 27-of-63 (43%). But Tennessee was 14-of-16 at the free-throw line; meanwhile, Auburn did not get to the line until late in the third quarter and made just 2-of-5. The Tigers also forced a season-low 12 turnovers while Tennessee had 10 steals to Auburn's eight.
Tennessee opened the third quarter on a 12-2 run as Auburn missed eight of its first nine shots in the period. Meanwhile, the Tigers did not have an offensive rebound in the quarter as the Lady Vols controlled the boards, outscored Auburn 22-10 in the period and took a 49-42 lead to the fourth.
Auburn opened the fourth quarter with five straight points to cut the lead to two at 49-47. But Tennessee continued to control the boards and pushed their advantage to 13 after three straight fast-break baskets. The Lady Vols' run extended to 11-0 over the next four minutes, and Auburn could get no closer than eight the rest of the way.
After an even first quarter, tied 18-18, that saw the Tigers shoot 57 percent, both teams cooled off in the second. But Auburn took advantage of a Tennessee scoring drought that neared five minutes to build a seven-point lead – thanks in large part to two straight fast-break baskets by Alexander and Benton – and take a 32-27 lead at the break.
Zaay Green led Tennessee with 25 points, and Cheridene Green had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Auburn begins a three-game home stand Sunday afternoon when the Tigers play host to rival Alabama. Game time is 3 p.m. CT; it's the annual Pink Game for breast cancer awareness, and all fans are encouraged to wear pink.