GREENVILLE, S.C. – For the second time this year, Auburn pushed Texas A&M to the brink. And for the second time, Texas A&M hit a jumper in the final seconds to claim a two-point victory, this one a 64-62 heartbreaker Friday night in the quarterfinals of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament.
In a game that saw 10 ties and nine lead changes, the teams were tied 62-62 with less than 30 seconds left. Texas A&M's Kayla Wells scored the final two of her game-high 28 points with a 12-foot jumper with 5.2 seconds left to give the Aggies a 64-62 lead. Auburn was unable to get a good look on its final possession, and A&M stole a second two-point victory from the Tigers this season.
"(This was) definitely a winnable game," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "We turned them over 26 times. Offense was the problem. We didn't score enough points off those turnovers. The offense in the second half was bad."
The Tigers (22-9) had opportunities to put the Aggies away multiple times during the game, forcing A&M (24-6) into 26 turnovers. But Auburn was only able to convert those into 21 points and turned the ball over 15 times themselves.
Meanwhile, A&M shot 59.0 percent from the floor and opened both the first and third quarter hitting their first six shots to build early leads. Both times, though, Auburn fought its way back, taking a four-point lead at halftime and leading by as many as three late in the fourth quarter. But the Tigers scored just one bucket in the final four minutes, missing three of their final four shots to set up the Aggies' game-winner.
Janiah McKay led Auburn with 17 points, and Unique Thompson added 13 with 11 coming in the second half. Thompson and Abigayle Jackson tied for the team lead with five rebounds. Jackson and freshman Brooke Moore finished with eight points each, and freshman Robyn Benton had a career-high four steals.
Auburn shot 45.6 percent from the field and attempted 18 more shots than the Aggies. But Texas A&M was 14-of-19 at the free-throw line while Auburn was 6-of-10. A&M won the rebounding battle 31-20.
The Tigers led 32-28 at the half after forcing the Aggies into 18 first-half turnovers; McKay scored the final six points of the half to turn a two-point deficit into a four-point lead. The Aggies then pushed their lead back to nine after making their first six shots of the third quarter to lead 43-34. Auburn continued to chip away, reclaiming the lead when Benton got an offensive rebound and hit a buzzer-beating jumper to give Auburn a 51-50 edge after three quarters.
Auburn will learn its postseason destination when the NCAA Selection Show airs Monday, March 18, at 6 p.m. CT.