ESTERO, Fla. – Auburn got huge offensive efforts from Daisa Alexander and Lauren Hansen, but the Tigers came up just short in a wild game with Drake Sunday afternoon, falling 83-82 in the fifth-place game of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
The Tigers (3-4) trailed by as many as 11, led by as many as 11, and saw 13 ties and 12 lead changes in an incredibly entertaining game. But a pair of free throws for Drake (6-2) with 7.8 seconds left, coupled with two misses at the other end, left Auburn behind as the clock expired.
"I think we got a little tired, the three games in three days caught up with us," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "You're trying to play other people to give (starters) a breather, and the lack of understanding when you're playing inexperienced players, they just don't understand the importance of rotations and getting stops.
"We needed to score a little better in the fourth quarter. I thought we missed some easy buckets there in the fourth quarter that really hurt, then not boxing out on that last possession. You get a defensive stop, you box out, the game's over. They have to foul us and the game is over."
Alexander and Hansen each scored 24 points, a career-high for Hansen and one shy of it for Alexander. Hansen made seven 3-pointers on the day, one shy of tying the Auburn single-game record and the most since Brandy Montgomery hit seven at Florida on Jan. 1, 2017. Both players also finished with four assists, and Alexander added three steals.
Unique Thompson kept her double-double streak alive with a 12-point, 11-rebound effort that also included four steals. She is now 7-for-7 on the year with eight straight double-doubles dating back to the final game of last season.
Auburn shot 45.2 percent for the game (28-62) and hit 13-of-29 3-pointers (44.8%), coming up one short of the single-game team record. The Tigers were also stellar at the free-throw line, hitting 13-of-16 (81.3%). Auburn forced 19 Drake turnovers, turning those into 24 points, but the Bulldogs responded in kind with 24 points of their own off 20 Auburn turnovers.
Drake led 44-42 at the half. A slow start to the third quarter for both teams saw Auburn tie it up at 48-48, then go on a 10-0 run to build a 58-48 advantage on an Alexander 3-pointer with 3:36 left. But a flurry by the Bulldogs in the final 90 seconds, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Maggie Negaard, cut the lead to four at 66-62 headed to the fourth.
The lead swung wildly in both directions throughout the fourth quarter with both teams leading by as many as 6. Auburn trailed 81-75 with 2:18 to play, but another 3-pointer plus two free throws from Alexander cut it to one at 81-80 with under a minute. Auburn got a stop, then Alexander drew a foul with 15 seconds left and made both free throws to put the Tigers back ahead 82-81. At the other end, Auburn forced a miss but was unable to get the rebound, and a foul with 7.8 seconds left led to two Bulldog free throws. The Tigers had two chances before the buzzer but could not get a shot to fall.
Sara Rhine led Drake with 22 points, and Negaard and Kierra Collier added 15 apiece.
Auburn continues its five-game road swing Wednesday night on the road at South Alabama. Game time is 7 p.m. CT at the Mitchell Center in Mobile.