AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn and Stephen F. Austin traded blows for 35-plus minutes Wednesday night, but the Tigers went cold over the final five as the Ladyjacks pulled away late for a 67-54 win at Auburn Arena.
The Tigers (4-2) led throughout much of the first half, fell behind in the third period and briefly regained the lead midway through the fourth. But a tie game with less than five minutes to play got away from Auburn as SFA (6-2), the preseason pick to win the Southland Conference, ended the game on a 13-0 run.
"We were out of sync not only offensively, but defensively as well," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "We gave up too many easy buckets in the back line. We're playing better teams now, and when we're not doing our defensive principles, good teams are going to capitalize, and that's what happened.
"We came out with low intensity. We've got to come out with better intensity, a better sense of urgency right away."
Redshirt sophomore Honesty Scott-Grayson led the Tigers with a career-high 16 points and a pair of assists. Senior Unique Thompson picked up her fifth straight double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds; she also led Auburn with four steals and a pair of blocks.
But baskets were tough to come by as the Tigers shot a season-low 33.9 percent (19-of-56), including 2-of-15 (13.3%) from 3-point range. Normally steady at the charity stripe, Auburn also struggled at the free-throw line, hitting 14-of-23 attempts (60.9%). Auburn was also out-rebounded for the first time this season, 43-34. The Tigers were able to force SFA into 24 turnovers, converting those into 18 points.
Auburn jumped out to a 6-0 lead and led 17-12 at the end of one. Both teams were ice cold for the next several minutes, but SFA started clawing its way back late in the half with three straight 3-pointers over a 90-second stretch to cut into the Tigers' lead. A Ladyjack layup at the buzzer would tie the game 27-27 at the half.
SFA took the lead early in the third and led 45-39 with a minute to play. But Auburn picked up the pressure and ended the quarter on a 6-0 run to tie it up 45-45 headed to the fourth. The Tigers moved back ahead 52-51 with 5:46 to play on an old-fashioned 3-point play by Scott-Grayson, but the Tigers would manage just one basket the rest of the way, missing their final eight shots of the game.
Alyssa Mayfield led SFA with 19 points. Stephanie Visscher added 15, and BriAnna Mitchell had 13. SFA shot 40.7% from the field and hit seven 3-pointers.
Auburn has a quick turnaround as the Tigers host North Florida Thursday night at 6 p.m. CT. Tickets are available at AUBTix.com; fans can listen on WQSI 93.9 FM and watch on SEC Network +.
