ESTERO, Fla. – Auburn's Erin Howard tipped in a game-tying basket at the buzzer to force overtime, and the Tigers out-dueled Dayton in the extra period to earn a 76-74 win Saturday morning in the Gulf Coast Showcase.
With the score tied 74-74 and Auburn able to hold for the last shot in overtime, Unique Thompson was fouled and made one of two free throws to give the Tigers a 75-74 lead. Auburn was then whistled for a foul with 0.8 seconds to play, but Dayton's Erin Whalen – who had scored all 11 points for the Flyers in OT – missed both free throws. Kiyae' White got the rebound, and another Auburn free throw in the final two-tenths gave the Tigers the win.
The Tigers forced the extra period when, trailing 63-61 with 7.6 seconds to play, a baseline miss from Lauren Hansen came off the rim to Howard on the weak side, who tipped it in as the buzzer sounded.
"That inbounds play we ran, Erin said, 'Coach, where do you want me to go?'" Auburn coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "I said, 'Lauren is driving to the basket, just go rebound. That's the only place you need to go.' And she happened to be there for the tip-in, that was a huge tip-in to put the game into overtime."
Auburn (3-3) trailed by 13 points at halftime after two starters missed a large chunk of the second quarter with foul trouble; while they were on the bench, the Flyers went on a 22-4 run. But Auburn answered by outscoring Dayton 25-12 in the third quarter to tie it up, and the final 15 minutes went back-and-forth to set up the wild finish.
"We had a long team meeting yesterday," Williams-Flournoy said. "One of the things we talked about was to stop talking and put things into action. You've got to guard people, you've got to get in there and rebound, finish at the basket. We played a lot of minutes, but they continued to fight in there. This is a game right here that helps your young team mature. To be in these games, to get in an overtime."
Daisa Alexander led the Tigers with 22 points, along with three assists and three steals. Unique Thompson added 20 points and 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double in as many games and was a key at the free throw line late, hitting 10-of-15 attempts in the game. Brooke Moore poured in a season-high 18 points, with five of those coming in the overtime period, along with a team-leading four steals.
Lauren Hansen finished with eight points and six rebounds, and Howard contributed five points and six boards off the bench, including the game-tying put-back to force overtime.
For the first time this season, Auburn forced an opponent into 20 turnovers, turning those into 19 points. Dayton shot 44.4 percent for the game to Auburn's 40.6 percent, but the Tigers took advantage of free-throw opportunities, hitting 18-of-26 (69.2%) for the game.
Auburn led 16-15 after one quarter of play and pushed that lead to as many as six points in the second period, but the Flyers went on a tear over the last eight-plus minutes of the quarter, ending on a 22-4 run to take a 37-24 lead at the half.
But Auburn came out with a purpose in the third quarter, getting six straight points from Alexander to spark a 16-2 run that gave Auburn the lead back at 40-39, just more than five minutes into the period. Auburn would move back ahead by as many as five, but a Whalen 3-pointer for Dayton at the buzzer tied the game 49-49.
Auburn never led in the fourth quarter but never let the Flyers move ahead by more than one possession. A pair of Hansen free throws tied it with 1:54 to play, but Dayton answered at the other end to move back ahead 62-60. After both teams came up empty on possessions in the final minute, Auburn had to foul. Dayton missed one of the two attempts, and Auburn called timeout to advance, setting up Howard's game-tying tip-in.
Jayla Scaife and Whalen led Dayton with 19 points each. Shakeela Fowler added 16, and Julie Chandler had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Auburn will wrap up its week at the Gulf Coast Showcase Sunday at 12:30 p.m. CT against the winner of Drake and Maine. Radio coverage begins at 12:15 p.m. on WTGZ 93.9 FM and online at AuburnTigers.com.