TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Auburn’s DeYona Gaston recorded her seventh double-double of the season, but No. 18 Alabama pulled away in the second half for a 66-50 win Sunday afternoon at Coleman Coliseum.
Auburn led for nearly the whole first half, but turnovers proved costly as a 17-0 Alabama run to end the second quarter gave the Tide their first lead, and the Tigers would never regain the advantage in the second half.
“In the second quarter, we stopped getting stops,” Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. “We were getting stops and scoring in transition (in the first quarter), and then they started picking on a couple of people defensively. Then they were scoring in transition, scoring off our turnovers. And we didn’t match up with their shooters.
“We were trying to force things, and our guards didn’t do a great job of getting open. We were just trying to do too much. They were jumping us and creating turnovers.”
Gaston finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Tigers in both categories; she was Auburn’s only player in double-figures.
Alabama scored 34 points off 21 Auburn turnovers. The Tide shot 48.1 percent from the floor to Auburn’s 40.4 percent, and Alabama hit eight 3-pointers while the Tigers made just one.
The first 15 minutes were all Auburn. The Tigers controlled the paint and turned seven Tide turnovers into seven points in the first quarter, leading 20-9 after 10 minutes. Jordan Hunter put an exclamation point on the first period with a 40-footer to beat the buzzer.
That lead would expand to 16 as Bostic converted a layup and-one to give the Tigers as 29-13 lead with 4:51 to play in the half. But from there, Alabama hit 7-of-9 shot attempts while Auburn turned the ball over seven times, leading to a 17-0 run for the Tide to give them a 30-29 lead at the half.
Alabama extended its lead to double-digits late in the third quarter, and a would-be buzzer-beater by Taylen Collins was waved off after review to give the Tide a 49-39 lead after three.
Auburn would cut the deficit to as few as five points midway through the fourth, but a 7-0 Alabama run from there would put the game out of reach.
Aaliyah Nye led Alabama with 29 points, making six 3-pointers on the night.
Auburn plays its final road game of the season Thursday night when the Tigers travel to Athens, Ga., to face Georgia. Game time is 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET at Stegeman Coliseum.