COLUMBIA, Mo.— Auburn’s Kaitlyn Duhon dazzled for the second straight game, and the Tigers ended a road drought in league play with a 71-58 win at Missouri Thursday night.
Auburn never trailed and forced Missouri into 30 turnovers, turning those into 29 points to help the road Tigers withstand an outstanding shooting night from the home team.
“I thought overall our intensity was pretty good,” Auburn head coach Larry Vickers said. “We’ve got to close basketball games better, but overall, it’s so hard to win a game on the road in the SEC, so we should be happy to get one today.
“I’m proud of them. We do a good job playing with leads, that gives us a lot more confidence. I’m super happy for this group. It’s so possible to go 0-16 in this league, and we’ve managed to win three. Hopefully we can get a couple more before the end of the year.”
Duhon’s 19 points led the Tigers for the second straight outing, and she also had seven rebounds and four steals to help lead the charge.
Khady Leye added 13 points and Harissoum Coulibaly had 11. Mya Petticord added nine on three 3-pointers.
Missouri shot a sparkling 57.1 percent from the field (20-35) and was above 60 percent for most of the game. But a season-high in turnovers for Mizzou – who came in averaging 16 per game – led to them taking 34 fewer shots than Auburn, who hit 26-of-69 on the night.
Auburn also knocked down eight 3-pointers, their most in an SEC game this year, and had a season-low 10 turnovers that turned into just seven points for Mizzou.
Auburn led 18-8 after one quarter after forcing Missouri into 12 turnovers in the first period. Duhon was responsible for three of those, turning steals into a pair of fast-break layups, including the first bucket of the game.
Ja’Mia Harris, Petticord and Angena Belloso each hit 3-pointers in the opening period.
A 6-0 run with jumpers from Leye and Clara Koulibaly, along with a pair of free throws from Duhon, gave Auburn its largest lead at 36-21 with just over three minutes to play in the opening half.
Despite Missouri shooting 67 percent from the field in the first half, Auburn maintained its 10-point lead at the break, 37-27, thanks to forcing 19 Mizzou turnovers that led to 16 points. Meanwhile, Auburn took care of the ball as Mizzou was unable to convert on any Auburn giveaways.
The Auburn lead never dipped below 10 points in the second half as the Tigers kept up their defensive intensity. The lead would swell to as many as 18 early in the third on back-to-back treys from Petticord to make it 48-30. Auburn led 60-48 headed to the fourth.
Mizzou got within 10 at one point early in the fourth, but Auburn’s defense continued to hold the host Tigers at bay. A Coulibaly layup at the 3:50 mark pushed the advantage back to 15 points at 70-55, giving Auburn its first 70-point game in conference play this year.
Grace Slaughter led Mizzou with 19 points and Jordana Reisma added 10.
The Tigers return to the Plains for their final two home games, beginning Monday night, Feb. 23, when they host No. 24 Georgia. Game time is 6:30 p.m. CT at Neville Arena.