Behind the lead over Janiah McKay and Unique Thompson, Daisa Alexander's last-minute shot sent Auburn to the next round.
Alexander was fouled while nailing a mid-range jumper from the corner with 17 seconds left, and she would complete the three-point play from the line to increase the Auburn lead to three.
“They gave the whole baseline to Daisa, and she made a great read," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "And she needed that. She had been struggling a little bit offensively, and she needed that because she had played really well.”
Along with Alexander’s game-winning dagger, McKay and Thompson both tallied 19 points on the night to share the game's scoring title.
Thompson pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds on the night, the most since Tra’Cee Tanner in the 2015-16 season. The sophomore started off her second-year campaign with two double-doubles in the first three games of the season, the eighth and ninth of her career.
In the first half, Auburn relied heavily on its free throws to keep them in the game while shooting only 30.3 percent from the floor. The Tigers made 15 of 20 free-throw attempts in the half, with 15 of the team's first 36 points coming from the line.
Auburn’s shooting improved to 52.9 percent in the second half, but they Williams-Flournoy's squad was never able to fully pull away from the Lobos because of frequent lead changes. New Mexico rounded out its game with a whopping twelve 3-pointers while led by Jayla Everett's 25 points.
Auburn will continue its challenging road journey in the Preseason Women's NIT and pay Iowa State a visit in the semifinals on Tuesday night. The winner of Tuesday's matchup will play the winner of Miami and Marquette in the finals.
Iowa State is led by senior guard Bridget Carleton, who leads the Cyclones in scoring at 17.5 points per game, and is hopeful its top-20 recruit and contributing Team USA member, Ashley Joens, can add to its scoring options.
Tuesday's game will start at 6:30 p.m. CT inside Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
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