Even with a 10-point run that brought the game to within two points late in the second half, the women's basketball team couldn't edge past Alabama.
The Tigers came away with a 55-53 loss against the Tide Sunday with the game being played in Tuscaloosa.
The Tide was held scoreless past the 5:11 mark.
Auburn was 5-of-16 at the free throw line and was dominated by the Tide in points off turnovers, 12-2.
Head coach Nell Fortner said one of the deciding factors in the game was the free throw shooting.
"We had a really bad day from the line and I think that if we could have knocked those down it would have made a big difference towards the end of the game," Fortner said. "It was just a tough day for us."
Junior guard Alli Smalley scored 17 points, 15 coming in the second half. She also led the team in rebounds, bringing down 11 to record her first double double.
Smalley said she is still settling into being a team leader and tries to lead by example.
"That's something that they've stressed to me a lot, and it's a work in progress for me," Smalley said. "I feel like I do the best I can."
Another team leader for the Tigers was senior center KeKe Carrier.
Carrier scored 12 points and had five rebounds, but the Alabama defense smothered her in the second half.
Fortner said she felt Carrier didn't work hard enough against the pressure.
"They were just really physical with her and they pushed her off the block and got her away from the basket," Fortner said. "You have to be able to fight for your position, and I don't think she did a good job of getting in good position down there today." Leading the way for the Tide was junior forward Tierney Jenkins, with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four steals.
Fortner said Jenkins was a nice, competitive player who played hard.
"No matter what defense we played today we didn't do a good job of guarding her," Fortner said.
Auburn has one lone remaining starter from last season in Smalley, and Smalley said sometimes that youth and inexperience can be a problem.
"We can't always use that as an excuse," Smalley said. "It's a tough thing, but a lot of other teams are young too, so it's just something that you have to get past."
Next up for the Tigers are back-to-back home games.
Auburn takes on the Arkansas Razorbacks tonight at 6 p.m. The Razorbacks are coming off a home loss to Kentucky.
Redshirt junior Jordan Greenleaf said the team will focus on some fundamentals this week in practice.
"Our co-captain has been talking to us a lot about our free throws and other little stuff that's causing problems like boxing out," Greenleaf said. "We're not there yet, but it's starting to show in games such as at Alabama when those things affect us."
Sunday the women will host Louisiana State University at 3 p.m. The game is part of the WBCA's "Pink Zone" initiative this season, and fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game.
Greenleaf said she feels coming off back-to-back losses will make the whole team hungry for a win.
"With any game, it always comes down to the want to win," Greenleaf said. "We just got to dig down deep to find some fight from somewhere."
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