The Auburn women's basketball team ended its three-game winning streak Sunday with a 68-58 loss at the hands of the Missouri Tigers.
In what was their worst first half of play all year, Auburn shot 21 percent from the field, combined with a 1-10 mark from behind the 3-point line.
"I don't think we were ready to play today," said senior forward Tyrese Tanner. "[The first half] killed us, it made us play catchup."
At the break, Missouri led 42-14, after sinking eight threes and shooting almost 50 percent from the field.
"Missouri is a very good three-point shooting team," said Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "That's what the whole scouting report was, that's who they are."
Williams-Flournoy expressed her dissatisfaction with the team's performance and was confused as to why they would come out so slow.
"I don't know why they would come out and look as bad as they did, knowing the opportunity that was right there, for us to get .500 in the league," Williams-Flournoy said.
Tanner, Auburn's leading scorer, sat much of the first half due to foul trouble, and made no baskets during the first twenty minutes.
"That's getting real old," Williams-Flournoy said. "That story has been told 300 times now. She's got to stop getting in foul trouble."
As she has many times this season after a cold start, Tanner came out hot in the second half, and attempted to lead an Auburn comeback that would eventually fall short, as Auburn was never able to get it back to being a one-possession game.
Tanner would finish with 22 points, all in the second 20 minutes.
"I don't really have an explanation for that," Tanner said. "I just need to bring it both halves."
Underneath the basket, Missouri dominated Auburn throughout the game, outrebounding them by a total of 47-31.
"Missouri was hungrier," Williams-Flournoy said. "I don't remember the last time we were outrebounded by that much."
Auburn outscored Missouri 44-26 in the second half, but the poor play on both sides of the ball in the first period set the tigers to far back.
"Forty-two points in the first half is unacceptable, our defense isn't taught like that," Tanner said. "We weren't making shots and layups on the other end. We couldn't get in our press because we kept missing."
On a day where three of the greatest teams in the program's history were honored at halftime, current members of the team said it was embarrassing for those past players to see them play so poorly.
"It's embarrassing for those former players, former Olympians and former All-Americans to watch this," Williams-Flournoy said. "That's an embarrassment to have Auburn on."
The loss dropped Auburn to 14-11 overall, with a 5-7 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
"We were trying to get up in the rankings and this definitely knocked us back down," said sophomore forward Tra'cee Tanner. "This was definitely a game that needed to be won."
Auburn will take on the No. 8 ranked Lady Vols of Tennessee Thursday in Knoxville, before returning home next Sunday to face Georgia.
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