Strong senior night performances from Katie Frerking and Brandy Montgomery propelled Auburn past LSU Thursday night inside Auburn Arena. The home Tigers overcame a five-point deficit in the final 90 seconds to win 54-49 in a defensive struggle.
“I don’t know how many times we say about how hard that our team plays because they play extremely hard,” Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “We’ve been playing extremely hard, and we haven’t been getting the ‘W.’ So, if you think this game means a lot, you’re absolutely right. It means a lot. And they worked extremely hard, and they kept fighting because we were down. With a minute or so left, we were down. Anybody else would’ve packed it in, they just continued to fight.”
Auburn bounced back from an offensively unproductive third quarter by stepping up on defense and playing LSU tough. Auburn was led by seniors Frerking and Montgomery, who combined for 25 points.
With 45 turnovers between both sides, the score stayed low as the two defenses fought till the buzzer.
“It was who was going to get the most defensive stops,” said sophomore Janiah McKay after her 14-point performance.
McKay and her team halted LSU’s offensive momentum in the final minute, as Auburn finished the game on a 11-1 run to come away with the victory. The run started with 1:29 to play as McKay knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the lead to two. She then drove to the basket for a layup to make it a one point game with 49 seconds left.
Just 16 seconds later, a steal from Erica Sanders led to a breakaway layup for Jessica Jones, giving Auburn its first lead since late in the third quarter, 49-48. LSU tied it at the free-throw line as Jones fouled out before any time ran off the clock. But LSU committed another foul to send Frerking to the line, where she made one to put Auburn back ahead 50-49.
At the other end, Jazmine Jones drew a charge to give Auburn the ball back, and Frerking and Montgomery each made two free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.
The home Tigers got off to a hot start shooting 40% in the first quarter, but their offensive productivity would slow into a complete stop. Auburn only managed to make 3-of -23 field goals in the third quarter and could not account for a single point in the first six minutes after halftime. Frerking and Montgomery made up for the mid-game rut with impressive performances that carried the team. In her last game in Auburn Arena, Frerking totaled 10 points and six rebounds, including knocking down the game sealing free throws. Montgomery led with 15 points.
Raigyne Moncrief led LSU with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Alexis Hyder and Jasmine Rhodes had nine points each.
Auburn (16-13, 6-9) will head to Fayetteville, Arkansas Sunday to take on Arkansas. The Razorbacks have lost eight straight games. Tip off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CST.
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