AUBURN, Ala. – Five Tigers scored in double-figures as the Auburn women's basketball team pulled away in the second half for a 74-56 win over Bethune-Cookman Sunday afternoon at Auburn Arena.
Auburn (5-5) shot over 65 percent in the second half and overcame a tenacious press by Bethune-Cookman (6-2) to turn a five-point halftime lead into as much as a 19-point advantage to head into the holiday break with a victory.
"We knew we were going to have our hands full," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "Bethune-Cookman was 6-1, they came in with great confidence. They've got three seniors and a junior in the starting lineup. We're just so young and make so many mistakes. I didn't like having four freshmen on the floor (in the fourth quarter), but with foul trouble we had to do that."
Junior Unique Thompson led the way with a 16-point, 13-rebound effort that also included a team-leading four steals. She was just one rebound shy of a double-double by halftime; as such, she picked up her NCAA-leading 10th double-double in 10 games and extended her streak to 11 straight games, which leads all active players nationwide.
Erin Howard added 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Daisa Alexander scored 11, bringing her within four points of 1,000 for her career. Lauren Hansen scored 10 points and shared the team lead with three assists. And Robyn Benton, who missed the season's first nine games with injury, scored 10 points and added two blocks in her return to action. Annie Hughes moved back into the starting lineup for Sunday's game and pulled down a season-high seven rebounds along with five points.
For the game, Auburn shot 50.8 percent from the floor (30-59) and held the Wildcats to a 33.9 percent night (19-56), the lowest by an Auburn opponent this year. The Tigers out-rebounded BCU 43-26, their biggest margin of the year, and scored 36 points in the paint to BCU's 20.
Auburn found an offensive rhythm late in the second quarter to turn a five-point deficit into a five-point lead at 36-31 headed to the locker room. The Tigers then started the third quarter on a 16-4 run, extending the advantage to 52-35 with 4:15 to play. A turnover- and foul-plagued cold spell to begin the fourth quarter allowed the Wildcats to cut the Auburn lead to as few as 10 points, but a Hughes 3-pointer with just under six minutes left sparked a 9-0 run to put the game out of reach.
Daniella Hatcher led Bethune-Cookman with 16 points and Ciara Thompson added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Following the holiday break, Auburn will wrap up non-conference play on Saturday, Dec. 28, at home against Jacksonville State. Game time is set for 2 p.m. CT at Auburn Arena.