LEXINGTON, Ky. – Auburn fought back from a 20-point deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter but was unable to pull out the victory as No. 12 Kentucky held on for a 68-61 win Monday night at Memorial Coliseum.
The Tigers trailed by 16 at the half and as many as 20 midway through the second quarter, but went on an 11-0 run to open the second half and never allowed Kentucky to pull away. Auburn was within two points with under a minute to go but was unable to score again as the Wildcats knocked down five free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.
"The resilience they showed was unbelievable," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "We knew that if we took care of the basketball, we would have a great opportunity to score. But 26 turnovers, that's too many. A lot of it was playing a little fast."
Unique Thompson had one of her best performances at Auburn, picking up her nation-leading 17th double-double in 18 games with a game-high 27 points and 15 rebounds, hitting 11-of-14 attempts from the field.
"Kentucky is limited in their post size, so we knew Unique (would have success)," Williams-Flournoy said. "I thought Unique did a very good job of going to get the basketball. She didn't stand around, she went and got some of those offensive rebounds."
Thompson was Auburn's only player in double-figures; Robyn Benton and Erin Howard added nine points each and Daisa Alexander had eight. Alexander also contributed a season-high seven assists.
The Tigers had turnover troubles throughout, finishing with 26 that led to 25 Kentucky points. Auburn forced Kentucky into 20 turnovers, turning those into 16 points. Auburn out-shot Kentucky, hitting 45.5 percent (25-55) from the floor to UK's 42.9 percent (24-56), but the Wildcats knocked down 11 3-pointers. Auburn out-rebounded UK 36-29 and scored 38 points in the paint to UK's 20.
Kentucky led 44-28 at the half after the Tigers turned the ball over 15 times in the opening 20 minutes, leading to 16 Wildcat points. The Wildcats also hit seven 3-pointers in the first half.
But Auburn opened the third quarter on an 11-0 run and closed to a four-point game at 51-47 after three quarters. The Tigers scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, tying the game on a Thompson free throw with 8:40 to play. Kentucky moved back ahead by five, but Auburn pulled to within a point on two different occasions in the fourth and had the ball with a chance to take the lead. However, the Tigers could never get over the hump, and Kentucky made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the win.
Sabrina Haines led Kentucky with 17 points while KeKe McKinney added 13. Auburn held Rhyne Howard to 10 points, her second-lowest output of the season.
The Tigers continue a stretch of four of five games on the road Thursday when Auburn travels to Starkville, Miss., to take on No. 9 Mississippi State. Game time is 7 p.m. CT at Humphrey Coliseum.