AUBURN, Ala. – JaMya Mingo-Young had her first Auburn double-double, McKenna Eddings led five Tigers in double figures, and the Tigers won their eighth in a row as they defeated North Alabama 79-58 Sunday afternoon at Neville Arena.
A slow start gave way to a big second half for the Tigers' offense as a three-point halftime lead swelled to 20 late in the third quarter, and Auburn (11-2) never looked back as they closed out an unbeaten December.
"It was a good win, but I wasn't particularly happy with our start," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "It started on our defensive end. Everything we do starts with our defense, and … we just let them do what they wanted to do in the first half.
"We created off of our defense, but we put McKenna in at the 4, they were sagging off and not guarding, and she hit some shots. Then we were able to get Honesty going, not just scoring but also creating."
Mingo-Young once again flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. It was the eighth double-double of her career and first in an Auburn uniform. She also extended her consecutive free throws made streak to 25.
"I knew I was going to have to play extended minutes, so it was about being smart, hitting spots, executing plays," Mingo-Young said. "Executing was the biggest thing. But we have to start getting out to better starts."
Eddings scored a career-high 14 points to go along with three steals, three rebounds and two assists. She was lights-out from distance, hitting 4-of-5 attempts from 3-point range to help the Tigers pull away in the second half.
Three others hit for double-figures as Sydney Shaw, Honesty Scott-Grayson and Kaitlyn Duhon scored 11 points apiece. Celia Sumbane pulled down a season-best nine rebounds, and Shaw had a pair of blocked shots.
Auburn's lead hit double-digits for the first time midway through the third on a Duhon layup to make it 42-32. Moments later, the Tigers would start an 11-0 run, pushing the advantage to 20 on five straight points from Duhon; Auburn would lead 58-41 after a 28-point third quarter.
Eddings scored half of her 14 points in the fourth, starting the period with her third triple of the day, then hitting her fourth at the 6:50 mark to cap a 7-0 run and give the Tigers their largest lead at 70-46.
The score was tied 15-all after one. UNA moved out to their largest lead at 23-18 midway through the second quarter, but the Tigers came out of a timeout on a 12-0 run to take a 30-23 lead. UNA would close with four straight to make the halftime margin 30-27.
Auburn remained unbeaten on the year when shooting 40 percent or better, hitting 42.3 percent from the field today (30-71). For the second straight game, the Tigers shot 50 percent from 3-point range at 8-for-16, and Auburn was a near-perfect 11-of-12 at the free-throw line.
The Tigers also turned 21 UNA turnovers into 19 points while committing just 11 turnovers of their own. Auburn's bench scored 34 points, their third-best total of the season.
Alyssa Clutter led North Alabama (4-9) with 16 points, and Veronaye Charlton had 13.
Auburn begins Southeastern Conference play Thursday, Jan. 4, as the Tennessee Lady Volunteers visit Neville Arena. Game time is 7 p.m. CT.
Tigers top North Alabama 79-58 for eighth straight win
