AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn put together one of its best defensive efforts of the season and pulled away in the fourth quarter as the Tigers defeated Ole Miss 59-43 Thursday night at Auburn Arena.
The Tigers (7-10, 1-5 SEC) earned their first SEC win of the year and snapped a five-game losing streak as a four-point lead at the end of the third quarter ballooned to as much as 19 in the fourth as Auburn outscored Ole Miss (7-12, 0-6) 21-9 in the final period.
"Our defense did a good job of creating points for us," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "We had 12 points off fast breaks, and I don't know if we've gotten 12 points off of fast breaks this season. That means we're converting off our live-ball turnovers, so it was much better.
"I think our rotations are a little better and we're more active (defensively). We are getting more hands on the ball, we're getting more jump balls. The pressure and the effort – more of the effort than what we've seen before – is much better."
Sophomore Robyn Benton led the Tigers with a career-high 17 points along with a career-best six rebounds, hitting three 3-pointers and going 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. She also shared the team lead with three assists and had a pair of steals in her second career start.
Unique Thompson made a pair of late free throws to secure her NCAA-leading 16th double-double in 17 games, racking up 10 points and 13 rebounds. Brooke Moore scored 10 points, all in the second half, to give the Tigers three players in double figures. And Daisa Alexander had a career-high 10 rebounds along with seven points, three assists and two steals.
Auburn had another rough night from the floor, shooting 30.3 percent, but knocked down seven 3-pointers and was 12-of-15 at the free-throw line. The Tigers held Ole Miss to 27.4 percent from the floor, the lowest by an Auburn opponent this season, and were able to keep the Rebels away from the foul line as they attempted just four free throws.
The Tigers grabbed a season-high 55 rebounds, their most since pulling down 57 in an overtime game at Marquette in 2015. Auburn also scored a season-high 12 points on fast breaks.
Auburn led 21-20 at the half after a back-and-forth first quarter and a forgettable second quarter for both teams. After the Rebels scored the first basket of the second half to move ahead 22-21, Coach Flo called a quick timeout. Auburn responded with an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to take a 32-22 lead on an Alexander 3-pointer with 7:45 left. The Rebels clawed their way back to within two late in the quarter before an Erin Howard jumper rolled in to put the Tigers ahead 38-34 at the end of three.
Moore hit back-to-back 3s to open the fourth, pushing Auburn's advantage to 10. Ole Miss never got any closer than seven points the rest of the way, and Auburn ended the game on a 12-3 run over the final five minutes to put the game out of reach.
Deja Cage scored 12 points off the bench, all on 3-pointers, to lead Ole Miss.
The Tigers hit the road for their next two contests, beginning with a trip to Lexington, Ky., to face No. 12 Kentucky Monday night. Game time is 6 p.m. CT at Memorial Coliseum with the broadcast on SEC Network and WTGZ 93.9 FM.