AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn had four players in double figures, but a fourth-quarter surge from Old Dominion led the Monarchs to an 89-77 win over the Tigers in women's basketball action at Auburn Arena Thursday night.
The Tigers (1-1) trailed by just two points at the end of the third quarter, but Old Dominion (2-0) could scarcely miss in the final 10 minutes, shooting 90 percent (9-of-10) in the fourth period and 5-of-5 on 3-pointers to break open what had been a tight game.
"We're not going to beat anyone giving up 89 points," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "That's not who we are. That's not what we do. It doesn't matter how well we play offensively, we can never give a team 89 points.
"It's the second game of the season. At the end of the day, we've just got to play defense. That's the only adjustment that we need to make. They have to buy in to playing defense. They've got to sit out there and play defense. They have to play hard every single possession. We can't get (opposing players) these points that we're giving up right now."
Senior Daisa Alexander finished with 17 points and four steals to lead the Tigers. Junior Unique Thompson picked up her second double-double in as many games with a 13-point, 10-rebound performance that saw her go 5-of-6 from the floor.
Sophomore Brooke Moore recorded her second straight 15-point game and remained perfect at the free-throw line for her career, going 7-for-7. And freshman Annie Hughes scored 12 points and had two steals.
As a team, the Tigers shot 43.3 percent from the field (26-60) and hit 8-of-19 3-point attempts (42.1%). Auburn also out-rebounded the Monarchs 34-28. But Old Dominion shot a blistering 59.3 percent from the field and 50 percent (14-of-28) from 3-point range.
The Monarchs, who were just 1-of-13 from 3-point range in their first game, hit 8-of-17 from long range in the first half alone to lead most of the opening half and take a 41-39 lead at the break. Auburn led briefly in the second quarter when Hughes put back a missed free throw to give the Tigers a 33-32 advantage with 6:01 to play. But after ODU answered with a 3-pointer to go back up by two, both teams struggled to score over the final five-plus minutes, combining for just two field goals the rest of the way.
ODU jumped back ahead by as many as 10 points midway through the third quarter, but the Tigers closed the period on an 8-0 run, punctuated by a pair of 3-pointers from Erin Howard, to head to the fourth quarter down by just two at 60-58. After an Alexander free throw got Auburn within one 16 seconds into the fourth, the Monarchs missed just one shot the entire period and went on a 25-10 run over the next six-plus minutes to build a 16-point lead and secure the road win.
Ajah Wayne led the Monarchs with 35 points, and Victoria Morris added 20.
The Tigers hit the road for the first time in 2019-20 with a short trip north to Birmingham to face UAB next Thursday, Nov. 21. Game time is 6 p.m. CT at Bartow Arena on the UAB campus.