Auburn cut what had been a 29-point Missouri lead to eight points in the fourth quarter and outscored Missouri by 20 points in the final 14 minutes, but a poor shooting performance from Auburn in the first quarter was too much for the Tigers to overcome in a 74-65 loss at No. 25 Missouri on Sunday afternoon.
"We started making some shots and getting some defensive stops," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said of Auburn's late rally. "They still scored, but we started forcing turnovers and scoring in transition – the same thing we could have been doing all game long. There was nothing different that we did except play. It takes too much energy and everything out of you to keep coming back and fighting like that. We need to start the game with that same type of intensity and effort."
Janiah McKay's 23 points, a season-high for her, led Auburn (15-5, 3-4 in SEC) in scoring. The senior was one of four Tigers in double figures. Crystal Primm added 12 points, Daisa Alexander had 11 and Brooke Moore scored 10.
Auburn, which missed its first 11 shots, finished the game with a 42-percent mark from the floor. Missouri had 11 3-pointers in the first half but only had one in the second half, finishing with 49 percent from the field for the game. Auburn's quick hands on defense continued to shine as the Tigers scored 20 points off Missouri's 17 turnovers.
Missouri applied offensive pressure early, shooting 50 percent (5-for-10) on three-pointers and was able to capitalize off Auburn's slow start of 1-of-14 from the field. At the end of the first quarter, Missouri was leading 23-2.
Auburn was able to cut the deficit down to as few as 16 late in the second quarter, but Missouri kept shooting and making its 3-pointers though -- 11 of them in the first half. At the break, Missouri was up 43-23.
Missouri's largest lead of 58-29 came with 4:33 to play in the third quarter, but Auburn showed its resilience and cut the lead to 19 at the end of the quarter, 62-43.
Auburn proceeded to outscore Missouri 22-12 in the fourth quarter, getting within eight points when McKay hit a 3-pointer to make it 66-58 with 3:19 left in the game. Missouri took over down the stretch and relied on its free-throws, and Auburn could not get closer than eight points.
Sophie Cunningham led Missouri with 30 points.
Auburn travels to Oxford, Mississippi, to take on Ole Miss at 7 p.m. CST Thursday to wrap up the month of January.
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