GREENVILLE, S.C. – Auburn overcame a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter and forced 18 second-half turnovers to earn a wild 53-52 win over Alabama Thursday night in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
Despite its lowest offensive output of the season, Auburn (22-8) got 29 points off 26 Alabama turnovers to beat its archrival for the third time this season, something the Tigers had not done against Alabama (14-17) since 1975.
"It was definitely a tough game," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "As everybody knows, it's hard to beat a team three times. Alabama was playing well. They played very well yesterday (against Vanderbilt). Then they came out and played just as well today.
"I'm very proud of our young ladies. They continued to fight, (they) were relentless, kept getting after it. We knew we had to have a good fourth quarter."
A good fourth quarter the Tigers had indeed – especially on the defensive end. Of Auburn's 19 points in the final period, 17 came off Alabama turnovers.
After Alabama's Shaquera Wade hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Tide a 7-point lead with 8:38 to play, Auburn responded with a 12-1 run over the next three-plus minutes – sparked by Alabama turnovers on five straight possessions – to grab their first lead since the opening minutes at 49-45.
Auburn was able to take advantage of free-throw opportunities down the stretch, hitting 10-of-11 in the fourth period. None were bigger than two from Daisa Alexander with 11 seconds to play that gave Auburn a 53-50 lead following a wild sequence that included two jump-balls, a 5-second violation, a timeout and a quick foul. Cierra Johnson's late 3-point attempt was off the mark, and Ariyah Copeland banked in a layup as time expired to cut the final deficit to one.
Janiah McKay was Auburn's only player in double-figures with 12 points on the night. Unique Thompson added 8 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and Alexander had six points and four steals. Abigayle Jackson contributed seven points and four off the bench, and Erica Sanders had three steals on the night.
Lost in the shuffle, Auburn also set a new school record for 3-point field goals in a season. Freshman Erin Howard tied the record (181) with Auburn's first shot of the game, and freshman Robyn Benton provided the record-breaking shot with Auburn's 182nd triple of the season at the 2:24 mark of the first quarter. With five treys in today's game, Auburn now has 185 on the season.
For the game, Auburn shot 33.3 percent to Alabama's 44.4 percent, and Alabama out-rebounded the Tigers 32-26. The Crimson Tide also hit 10 3-pointers on the night. But Auburn's bench contributed 20 points to Alabama's two, and the Tigers were 14-of-17 (82.4%) at the free-throw line.
Wade led Alabama with 19 points and nine rebounds. Cierra Johnson added 17 points.
The Tigers will face third-seeded Texas A&M Friday night in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Game time is approximately 7:30 p.m. CT, or 25 minutes after the conclusion of the 5 p.m. CT game between South Carolina and Arkansas. The game can be seen on SEC Network and heard on WTGZ 93.9 FM and AuburnTigers.com.