HOUSTON – Auburn senior Unique Thompson scored 26 points and had 23 rebounds, but the Tigers were unable to climb out of a deep first-half hole as Auburn fell for the first time this season, 71-61 at Houston.
The Tigers (3-1) had turnover trouble early, went cold for a large portion of the second quarter, and dealt with foul trouble to key contributors as Houston (2-1) took a 34-17 halftime lead. But Auburn fought back in the second half, cutting the deficit to as few as six points before running out of time to complete the comeback.
"That's tough when you're playing from behind," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "It takes a lot of energy. And it felt like every time we got it back down under double digits, we gave up a 3. But it was a great effort, they kept playing hard. If we had played the first half like we did the second half, we wouldn't even be in this situation.
"They did to us what we do to people – turned us over to create quick baskets and take away possessions. Twenty-three turnovers, that's 23 possessions that they took away from us."
Thompson's career night was the first 20-point, 20-rebound game by an Auburn player since 1993, when Lauretta Freeman had 30 points and 21 rebounds against Alabama. Thompson's 23 rebounds tied for the third-most in a game in Auburn history, the most since Sharon Stewart had 23 against Vanderbilt in 1988. She now has three double-doubles in four games this year and 45 for her career.
But the rest of Auburn's offense struggled as the Tigers shot 36 percent for the game (22-of-61) and hit just two 3-pointers. Both of those treys came from junior Alycia Reese, the Chattahoochee Valley CC transfer, who scored 10 points off the bench. Jala Jordan added 13 points and five rebounds, hitting 5-of-5 free throws.
Auburn turned the ball over 10 times in the first quarter and finished with 23 for the game, which turned into 21 Houston points. The Cougars led 22-9 after one, then with Thompson on the bench in foul trouble, both teams went cold to start the second before Houston took a 34-17 lead to the break.
The Tigers started chipping away, cutting the deficit to 14 at the end of the quarter and getting within single digits with 6:47 to play. It would be as close as six points at 59-53 with 4:18 to play after a Jordan layup. But every time Auburn threatened to get within striking distance, Houston answered. The Cougars hit four of their final five shots in the game to extinguish Auburn's comeback hopes.
Houston hit 10 3-pointers on the day, led by Britney Onyeje, who made five of them to account for her 15 points. Dymond Gladney led Houston with 18 points, hitting three 3-pointers.
Auburn plays its next four games within the friendly confines of Auburn Arena, starting Tuesday night when Belmont comes to town. Game time is 6 p.m. CT; tickets are available at AUBTix.com, and fans can listen on 95.9 FM or watch on SEC Network +.
