For the fifth consecutive time at home, the Tigers walked out of Auburn Arena with a win over their biggest rival.
Auburn held off a late Alabama rally to defeat the Tide 72-59. The win moved Auburn to .500 in the SEC.
“They knew it would be tough,” said Auburn coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. “The same thing happened to us last year here. We came out, we jumped on them right away. They kind of made their run right back at us, but we got our composure and got back in the game and won it.”
Katie Frerking led four Auburn (12-5, 2-2 SEC) players in double figures with 21 points, 13 of which came after halftime. Jazmine Jones recorded a season-high 16 points and 10 rebounds, her second career double-double. Brandy Montgomery also scored 16, and Tra’Cee Tanner added 11.
“We always talk about Katie, Brandi and Tra’Cee being our big three and our scorers,” Williams-Flournoy said. “Any time you can have somebody else step in and give us the scoring that we need, it’s great.”
After a fairly even first quarter, Auburn opened its lead in the second quarter, outscoring the Tide 18-7.
“We just had energy,” Frerking said. “We kind of came out a little bit flat … I thought we were a little stagnant on offense in the first quarter, but we picked it up.”
Alabama (12-5, 1-3 SEC) went on a 17-3 run in the second half, during which Auburn went 0 of 6 from the field with five turnovers. The run cut the Auburn lead to six with 5:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Auburn responded with a 12-1 run to stretch its lead once again.
Hannah Cook led Alabama in scoring with 19 points, but she fouled out with just over three minutes left in the game.
Auburn entered the game averaging 38.3 and allowing 36.2 rebounds per game, but the Tigers dominated Alabama on the boards, 39-25.
“It was a point of emphasis that we’ve made over the last couple of days in practice, because we have to,” Williams-Flournoy said. “A lot of teams were really killing us on the offensive boards.”
The Tigers also forced 19 Alabama turnovers, which they converted into 14 points.
Auburn will return to action Sunday, Jan. 17 at the University of Kentucky, which is also 2-2 in the SEC. But for a short while, the Tigers are going to enjoy their 19th win over the Tide in the teams’ last 24 meetings.
“It’s always fun to beat Alabama,” Frerking said. “I mean, any win at home is a good win, but the whole rivalry and all — that’s fun to do. But at the end of the day, it’s just another win. We’ve got to take it and learn from it and enjoy it, but move on.”
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