AUBURN, Ala. – Four players scored in double-figures, and the Auburn women's basketball team held off a late Vanderbilt rally and had their best free-throw shooting day of the season in a 70-62 win Sunday at Auburn Arena.
The Tigers (8-12, 2-7 SEC) avenged a 22-point loss a month ago in Nashville by forcing the Commodores (12-10, 2-7) into 22 turnovers and taking advantage of opportunities at the line, hitting 18-of-20 (90%) free throws on the day.
"I can definitely see the maturity of this team," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "There were a lot of times where a little adversity hit. We didn't make shots, we were turning the ball over, but we have matured and we didn't let that affect our game play. We continued to play hard, we continued to get after them. So I was very proud of the fact that they are starting to grow up.
"We've got a good lineup clicking that works well on the floor. They're playing well, they're talking well, and … we needed to get a win to solidify how well we've been playing."
Senior Daisa Alexander and freshman Lauren Hansen tied for the Auburn lead with 18 points apiece. Alexander added four assists and three steals, and Hansen had two assists, two steals and a rebound. The two combined to go 12-of-12 at the charity stripe, with five of those coming in the closing second to seal the win.
Unique Thompson moved within one double-double of DeWanna Bonner's Auburn record with the 39th of her career and 19th of the season, scoring 15 points along with 12 rebounds. She also had three assists, a steal and a block. Robyn Benton gave the Tigers four players in double figures with a 13-point effort that included six rebounds and matched a career-high with six steals for the second straight game.
Auburn's 90-percent free-throw day was its best since shooting 92.3 percent (12-of-13) in a win over Nicholls State last season. Despite Vanderbilt out-shooting the Tigers from the floor 49.1 percent to 38.7 percent, Auburn held the Commodores at bay from long range, allowing Vandy to hit just one 3-pointer on the night; 40 of Vandy's 62 points came in the paint. The 'Dores had two more rebounds than Auburn, but the Tigers had 16 second-chance points off 14 offensive rebounds and scored 19 fast-break points.
Auburn found itself trailing 8-0 early after a slow start but fought back to take its first lead at 16-15 on an Alexander jumper just before the first-quarter buzzer. The teams would trade the lead five times over the next five-plus minutes before an Alexander 3-pointer put the Tigers ahead 27-24. It was 33-28 Tigers at the half, and Vandy would never tie or take the lead again.
The Tigers led by as many as 13 in the third quarter at 53-40 with 2:38 to play. But Vandy would not go away, cutting it to seven points at the end of three and getting as close as three points in the final minute of the game. But with 45 seconds to play and Auburn coming out of a timeout with two seconds to shoot, the Tigers got the ball in Hansen's hands who drew a foul shooting a 3-pointer. She made all three free throws to make it 66-60, and two more free throws apiece from Alexander and Benton put the game out of reach.
Vanderbilt's Koi Love led all scorers with 22 points. Mariella Fasoula added 17.
After an open date Thursday, the Tigers will be back in action next Sunday, Feb. 9, on the road at Alabama. Game time is 2 p.m. CT at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa with the broadcast on SEC Network.