AUBURN, Ala. – Daisa Alexander scored 22 points for the second straight game, and the Auburn women's basketball team never trailed in a 77-38 win over Alabama Sunday afternoon at Auburn Arena.
The Tigers (19-7, 7-6 SEC) swept the season series with Alabama for the third time in the last six years and posted the third-largest margin of victory in the 90-game history of the series with their in-state rivals.
"I thought our ladies came out and jumped on Alabama right away," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "They listened to what we talked about, how important this game was for us. They came out and that's what they displayed right off the bat.
Alexander's 22 led all scorers and equaled her output against the Crimson Tide the last time the teams met on Jan. 10 in Tuscaloosa. She also pulled down an SEC-best seven rebounds along with four assists and three steals. Janiah McKay, Robyn Benton and Brooke Moore all had 11 points on the day; McKay led the Tigers with six assists.
Auburn's defense held Alabama to its season-low scoring total and allowed the Crimson Tide to make just 10 shots on the day. The Tigers also out-rebounded Alabama 42-27, their largest rebounding margin in league play, and every played on Auburn's roster had at least one rebound in the game. Auburn also forced the Tide into 22 turnovers, converting those into 26 points.
Offensively, Auburn shot 42.4 percent (25-59) from the field and made 8-of-19 3-pointers (42.1%), tied for their highest total in SEC play this year. The Tigers also shot 86.4 percent at the free-throw line, knocking down 19-of-22 attempts. Alabama shot 23.3 percent for the day, the lowest by an Auburn opponent this season.
The Tigers never trailed, jumping out to an 18-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. Alabama did not make a field goal for nearly a 12-minute stretch spanning the first and second quarters as the Tigers extended their lead past 20 points with more than five minutes to play in the half. Alabama never got any closer than 20 the rest of the way as Auburn led 38-12 at the half; the Tigers shot 42.9 percent in the opening 20 minutes and held the Tide to 15 percent shooting (3-20).
"That's about as good as you can ask for right there," Williams-Flournoy said of the team's first-half defensive performance. "They had some shots that they just missed because some of those were open, so we were lucky enough for them to miss. But we did get the defensive rebounds, though, which we usually don't do. We usually get the offensive rebounds, but we got the defensive rebounds this time."
Auburn saw its lead grow to as much as 39 points in the third quarter as the Tigers took advantage of free-throw opportunities, hitting 7-of-8 in the period, and seven Alabama turnovers that turned into nine Auburn points. The Tigers led 59-26 at the end of three quarters, and the Auburn bench played significant minutes down the stretch with the game in hand.
Ariyah Copeland led Alabama with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The Tigers will have the midweek off before returning to action next Sunday, Feb. 24, at home against Missouri. It will be Senior Day at Auburn Arena with game time set for 2 p.m.; pregame ceremonies will begin at approximately 1:45.