TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Aicha Coulibaly recorded her fourth double-double of the season, but a long cold spell allowed Alabama to build a lead they would not relinquish as the Tigers fell 69-46 Sunday at Coleman Coliseum.
A 10-minute stretch spanning the end of the second and beginning of the third quarters saw Auburn go scoreless from the field, and a 19-3 run for the Crimson Tide over that stretch proved to be too much for Auburn to overcome.
"Just disappointed," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "This was the first time I felt like we really went away from our game plan. Our game plan was to throw it inside, we had post players open, and we couldn't get the ball inside. Just really disappointed in our effort tonight."
Coulibaly finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year and ninth of her career. Kharyssa Richardson led the Tigers in scoring, equaling a career-high with 15 points and also pulling down eight rebounds.
It was a rough shooting night for the Tigers as they finished at 27 percent (17-62) and were unable to connect from 3-point range. Alabama, meanwhile, shot an even 50 percent from the field (26-52), hit five 3s and out-rebounded Auburn 45-34.
Neither team could find the basket in the first quarter as Alabama took a narrow 11-8 lead after 10 minutes. The offense would pick up for both teams in the second, however.
Auburn would take the lead just over three minutes into the second period at 16-15, using a 6-0 run propelled by two buckets from Coulibaly. Alabama answered with a trey, but a jumper from Kaitlyn Duhon tied it at 18 with 5:53 left. However, Auburn would not make a field goal the rest of the quarter, and Alabama finished the period on a 13-3 run to lead 31-21 at the half.
The third quarter started similarly as Auburn missed its first six shots of the half while Alabama built a 17-point lead. From there, the Tigers were never able to catch up.
Brittany Davis led Alabama with 18 points and 17 rebounds.
Auburn (13-11, 3-9 SEC) is back home Thursday night to take on Texas A&M. It's the annual Play4Kay Pink Game at Neville Arena; game time is 7 p.m. CT.
