NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Auburn took a lead to the fourth quarter, but a late cold spell for the Tigers allowed Alabama to pull ahead and hold on Auburn fell 75-68 Wednesday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
Auburn used a 10-0 run midway through the third quarter to turn a 7-point deficit into as much as a five-point lead, but a 9-0 run for Alabama early in the fourth put the Tide back ahead for good.
The Tigers' season came to an end with a final record of 10-18 overall that doubled the program's win total from a season ago and featured three victories over top-25 opponents.
"I'm really proud of how my team battled this season," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "Of course, we didn't end the way we wanted to end, but I felt like they battled. They gave me everything they had. It's a building season, but I thought we got better. We got better and better even though it may not have shown up in the wins and losses, but we have a lot to build on."
Four players finished in double-figures for the Tigers. Honesty Scott-Grayson led Auburn with 13 points, Annie Hughes had 12, and Aicha Coulibaly and Sania Wells added 10 apiece. Precious Johnson led the Tigers with six rebounds and three steals, and Wells had a team-best four assists.
Auburn shot 41 percent from the field (25-61) to Alabama's 49.1 percent (26-53). The Tide hit two more 3-pointers than Auburn and out-rebounded the Tigers 42-33. Auburn turned 22 Alabama turnovers into 19 points, and the teams were even in the paint with 38 points apiece. But free throws were a major struggle for Auburn as they went 14-of-28 at the line.
A late Alabama run in the first quarter gave them a 22-15 lead, but Auburn answered quickly to start the second, cutting the deficit to two points at 22-20. But a 7-0 Alabama run over the next 90 seconds pushed the Tide advantage back to nine points at 29-20. A couple of late stops helped Auburn cut the halftime deficit down to four at 35-31.
Auburn would push back ahead midway through the third with a 10-0 run to move ahead 43-40. The Tigers maintained that lead through the rest of the period, leading by as many as five with just over a minute to go before taking a 53-50 lead to the fourth. Auburn led 56-54 with 7:36 to play, but a cold stretch coupled with a 9-0 Alabama run over the next two-plus minutes, gave the Tide a lead they would not relinquish.
Megan Abrams led Alabama with 25 points, and Brittany Davis (15 points/11 rebounds) and JaMya Mingo-Young (14 points/15 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles.
"I feel like we built a foundation," Harris said of her first year leading the Auburn program. "We tried to put in our philosophy. I think that the kids that are coming back know what we want, so it was -- we were really inexperienced. We had some players that hadn't had any experience playing at this level. We had some with very limited experience playing at this level.
"So when you think about that, this team, this is a resilient bunch of kids. They bounce back time and time again, but I think they know now what to expect, so they know how to prepare. They know now how to take care of their bodies, so it's just a lot of little things that I think we've taught them that will carry over for next year."
Tigers come up short to Alabama in SEC Tournament
