The Auburn women's basketball team dropped its fifth straight game in a 59-55 defeat at the hands of the LSU Lady Tigers tonight in Auburn Arena.
The game got off to a slow start with both teams coming out and shooting 1-6 from the field in game's first few minutes. However, things started to heat up at about the 15-minute mark.
Auburn jumped out to a 13-6 with 12:30 left in the half, but saw that quickly disappear as LSU came back to tie the game at 14 only minutes later. From that point on, neither team saw more than a two-point lead in the first half.
Despite a sloppy performance with 14 turnovers and nine fouls, the LSU Tigers finished the half shooting 46 percent from the field behind the hot hand of Madison-native Adrienne Webb.
"It's always a great feeling to come home and play in front of your friends and family," Webb said. "But the bottom line was we had to come in and get a road win."
Foul shooting and solid inside play kept the Auburn Tigers in the game. Although they struggled from the outside, shooting only 32 percent from the field, eight points from the free throw line and 14 points in the paint kept them in the game.
A back-and-forth first half ended in a 28-26 LSU lead.
LSU continued its good shooting at the start of the second half, getting out to an early 34-30 lead.
However, Auburn responded with a 8-2 run to take a 38-36 lead with 12:41 left to play.
Much like the first half, both teams hung tough for the remainder of the game. Although Auburn failed to hold a lead, they never trailed by more than three until the final minute of the game.
LSU clung to a 55-52 lead with 1:28 left to play.
Auburn could not capitalize with only 18 points off 25 turnovers. Yet, they still had a chance to tie in the game's final seconds. Coming out of a timeout, the Tigers failed to execute as point guard Najat Ouardad threw the ball into the opposing hands of Danielle Ballard.
"Hasina (Muhammad) and I were supposed to screen for Blanche (Alverson) to get a three," said Auburn forward Tyrese Tanner. "That was the plan, but we turned it over."
LSU hung on to get the win 59-55 behind a few last second free throws.
"It's very frustrating," said Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "The game is right there. The game is right there for you to win. At the point, young ladies have to learn how to have a will to win."
Although Auburn's duo of Tanner and Muhammad played tough with 17 and 11 points respectively, as well as 32 points in the paint, LSU's inside-outside combination of Theresa Plaisance and Webb proved to be too much for Auburn to overcome. Webb finished with a game-high 21 points alongside a 16-point, 9-rebound performance by Plaisance.
"When we have an opportunity to break somebody down, we definitely try to find the kid with the hot hand," said LSU head coach Nikki Caldwell. "Adrienne Webb really stepped up big for us tonight and made some big plays."
Despite the struggles as of late, Auburn is trying to keep the right mindset going into the remainder of the season.
"There is always a chance to bounce back," Muhammad said. "We have another chance on Sunday. That is all we have to look forward to. We can't look back at the past."
The Tigers dropped to 13-8 on the season and 2-6 in conference and will travel to Columbia, S.C. to take on the Lady Gamecocks Sunday, Feb. 3.
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