AUBURN, Ala. – Senior Unique Thompson picked up her first double-double of the season, and Auburn was able to fend off a late 3-point flurry from Samford to pick up a 66-64 win Saturday night at Auburn Arena.
The Tigers (2-0) led by as many as 16 early in the second half. But Samford (0-2) chipped away over the final 20 minutes – led by five 3-pointers from the Bulldogs' Katie Allen in the fourth quarter, three of them in the final 79 seconds – to put major pressure on the Tigers.
A pair of key shots from redshirt sophomore Jala Jordan kept the Bulldogs at bay, and clutch free throws from Thompson and junior Kira Lowery secured the win as Samford missed a final 3-point heave at the buzzer.
"It was definitely a struggle down at the end," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "Just a lack of communication defensively. You can't give up those kinds of 3s at the end of the game. And we missed a lot of shots, a lot of wide open shots.
"It's just trying to find the right combinations right now. Some of our better offensive players aren't great defensive players, but you need them on the offensive end. So it's something we've got to work at, you've got to be able to play both ends of the court."
Thompson led Auburn with 16 points for the second straight game and pulled down 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and 43rd of her career. She also led the Tigers with five steals.
Lowery added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting and had a team-leading four assists in her second game as a Tiger. She also added a pair of steals. Junior Keya Patton added nine points, knocking down three 3-pointers, and Jordan chipped in eight points and four rebounds.
Auburn got off to a hot start, shooting 67 percent in the first quarter, but cooled considerably to a 29-percent clip the rest of the way; the Tigers finished at 36.7 percent. Meanwhile, Samford started hot and stayed hot, shooting 52.1 percent from the floor with eight 3-pointers. The game was won at the free-throw line; Auburn was 15-of-23 while Samford was 6-of-10. The Tigers pulled down one more rebound than Samford (33-32) and turned 21 Bulldog turnovers into 22 points.
The Tigers led 22-16 after one on the strength of hitting five of their first seven 3-point attempts of the night. But they would only make 2-of-18 from long range the rest of the way. Crashing the offensive glass in the second quarter and turning 10 first-half offensive rebounds into nine second-chance points helped pad the lead to 38-26 at the break.
It would be 42-26 less than a minute into the third on back-to-back buckets from Lowery, but from there, Auburn began to cool as Samford heated up. The Tigers saw their lead shrink to 50-42 at the end of three, then an 8-4 Bulldog run over the first three minutes of the fourth cut it to 54-50.
Auburn would make just two more field goals the rest of the way – both clutch shots from Jordan in the final three minutes. Her second, a 3-pointer with under a minute to play, pushed the lead to five at 61-56. From there, Allen sank two treys in a 10-second stretch, sandwiched around four free throws from Thompson and Lowery, to make it a 1-point game at 65-64. Lowery was fouled again, made one of two, and a long-range heave from Samford's Makaila Woolard was off the mark.
Samford's Allen led all scorers with 21 points, and Shauntai Battle added 19. Raven Omar had eight assists.
Auburn hosts Gardner-Webb Tuesday, Dec. 1, to wrap up a season-opening three-game home stand at Auburn Arena. Game time is set for 6 p.m. CT. Tickets are available at AUBTix.com, and fans can watch on SEC Network + and listen live on WQSI 93.9 FM and online at AuburnTigers.com.
