AUBURN, Ala. – A furious rally to force overtime led and clutch free throws in the extra period led the Auburn women's basketball team to a 59-58 win over Georgia Sunday afternoon at Auburn Arena.
The Tigers (17-5, 5-4 SEC) snapped a four-game skid against Georgia that dated to 2016 and rallied from a double-digit deficit for the second time in SEC play.
"Definitely a hard fight for Auburn," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "We had to fight as soon as the game started, all the way into overtime. I'm very proud of them, to continue to hang in there, and pull out this win."
After Auburn trailed by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter, junior Crystal Primm hit a game-tying layup with 13 seconds left to send it to overtime at 49-49. The Tigers then went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line in overtime – including 4-for-4 from Primm in the final 34 seconds – and held off a last-second shot from Georgia to secure their first home SEC win of the season.
With 15.6 seconds left in overtime and Auburn trailing 58-57 with the ball in the frontcourt, Janiah McKay drove for what would have been the go-ahead layup. After she missed, Primm grabbed the rebound and was fouled on the put-back attempt. Both free throws were good, and after Georgia called timeout to advance, the Bulldogs' 3-point attempt missed and time expired to give the Tigers a stirring victory.
"I told (Primm) to set the screen and just go, just go rebound," Williams-Flournoy said of the game-winning play. "I told Unique (Thompson) to roll hard, go rebound. Because (Janiah McKay) attracts so much attention when she gets into the paint, everybody comes, that's how we knew we would be able to get the offensive rebound. I thought she was going to make the shot, honestly."
Auburn overcame its worst shooting game of the season (30.4%) by forcing 28 Georgia turnovers – 11 in the fourth quarter alone – converting those into 22 points. The Tigers had a season-high 21 steals and out-rebounded Georgia 37-36.
Janiah McKay led the Tigers with 18 points and scored her 1,500th career point in the first quarter. She also had a season-high five steals and was 8-of-10 at the free-throw line. Unique Thompson added 14 points and nine rebounds along with four steals, and Primm finished with 13 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
Four Auburn players had at least four steals – McKay led with five while Thompson, Alexander and Erica Sanders had four apiece. Erin Howard added three steals along with seven points and four rebounds.
After three utterly forgettable quarters that saw Georgia take a 40-30 lead to the fourth, the Bulldogs led 45-32 with under eight minutes to play. From there, the Tigers' defense took over. Georgia took a nine-point lead at 49-40 with 2:55 left, but the Tigers forced turnovers on four of the Bulldogs' final five possessions, turning those into a 9-0 run that culminated in Primm's game-tying layup with 13 seconds to play. The Tigers also bounced back from early free-throw woes, hitting 9-of-10 attempts in the final two minutes of regulation plus overtime.
The Tigers did not lead from the 4:47 mark of the second quarter until the first basket of overtime. Georgia led 22-19 at halftime.
Auburn's win snapped a four-game skid against Georgia and was the first win over the Bulldogs for the Auburn seniors. The win also improved the Tigers to 6-1 at home all-time on Super Bowl Sunday.
Caliya Robinson led Georgia with 22 points and 10 rebounds, going 11-of-13 from the field.
The Tigers play their second straight home game Thursday night when they host No. 19 Kentucky at 6 p.m.
Auburn women rally for 59-58 OT win over Georgia
