The Auburn Tigers defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks Thursday to mark their first home SEC win.
Auburn (10-9) was in control the first half by playing tough defense and holding South Carolina (14-5) to 24 percent from the field. The Tigers finished 28-19 going into halftime.
The beginning of the second half Auburn took a 34-22 lead with 15 minutes left in the game. Then, with 5:30 left, South Carolina rallied back and took the lead 46-47.
Blanche Alverson, junior in biomedical science, put Auburn back in the lead with a three-pointer with 3:19 left in the game.
The score was tied again a minute later with two free-throws by South Carolina's Ashley Bruner, who was fouled by Auburn's Tyrese Tanner. Tanner came back by making a layup on Auburn's next possession to bring the Tigers to 51-49.
But South Carolina couldn't bring the game to a tie. Tanner put the game away on the free-throw line with six seconds left giving Auburn a four-point lead.
Auburn clenched the win 53-49.
Tanner, a 6-foot-1-inch sophomore from Birmingham, has been the team's leading scorer for the past five games.
"My teammates are doing really well on passing, us knocking shots down and me knocking shots down," Tanner said. "When it comes down to it though, it's because of my teammates."
Najat "Jet" Ouardad, a 5-foot-1-inch junior from Orleans, France, contributed to the defense during the second half.
"The second half we had that drop down of momentum," Ouardad said. "We knew we couldn't let down our hard work on defense, so we just went back on defense and picked it up some."
"That was a big win for us," coach Nell Fortner said. "It came at a time that we needed a win. It came against a team that hopefully gets us back on the winning track."
"Winning always breeds confidence," said Fortner. "We want to take it and get all we can out of it. It's been a tough part of the start of the SEC season, and wins are tough to come by. Hopefully it gives us a whole lot of confidence."
The Tigers return to action Jan. 26 against Kentucky.
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