ATHENS, Ga. – Auburn played its best first half of basketball in SEC play but was unable to sustain its strong play for 40 minutes as Georgia pulled away late for a 61-50 win Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum.
After leading at the half for the first time in SEC play, the Tigers went ice cold in the second half, shooting just 20 percent in the final 20 minutes as Georgia went on a 19-3 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to put the game away.
"We just let them go on that run in the third quarter, and that really hurt us," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "The group that we started with gave us a good run and a good lead, but when we needed to knock down some shots, we didn't knock them down. We had good looks, we had good shots. We just didn't knock them down."
Unique Thompson recorded her 15th double-double in 16 games with a 13-point, 11-rebound performance that saw most of her scoring come at the free-throw line; she made 9-of-13 attempts. Daisa Alexander made her return from an ankle injury that sidelined her the last two games, leading Auburn with 17 points. And Robyn Benton added a season-high 12 after making her first career start.
For the game, Auburn shot 28.3 percent, tying for their second-lowest percentage of the season. But it was the second half that was the difference – Auburn made just 5 of 25 shots from the field (20%) while Georgia hit 10-of-18 in the third quarter and 15-of-31 (48.3%) for the half.
The Tigers forced 18 Georgia turnovers but converted those into just nine points, all in the first half. Georgia scored 19 points off 17 Auburn turnovers and outscored the Tigers on fast breaks 19-4.
Auburn led 29-25 at the half; it was the Tigers' first halftime lead in SEC play. It was as much as a 10-point lead for the Tigers at two different points in the first half. Auburn sprinted to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes but saw Georgia close to 17-9 at the end of the first. The lead was back to 10 at 21-11 on a pair of Thompson free throws with 7:30 left in the second, but the Bulldogs went on an 11-4 run to get within as few as two.
Georgia took its first lead with 6:35 to play at 34-33. After the Bulldogs extended it to four at 38-34, Benton hit a 3-pointer with 4:33 left in the quarter to pull within one at 38-37. From there, Auburn missed its next 13 shots while Georgia made 8-of-10 to build a lead it would not relinquish.
Shaniya Jones led Georgia with 21 points off the bench; she was the only player in double figures for the Lady Bulldogs.
The Tigers are back inside Auburn Arena Thursday night when Auburn hosts Ole Miss. It's the annual We Back Pat game, raising awareness for Alzheimer's research and benefitting the Pat Summitt Foundation. Game time is 6 p.m. CT.