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A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn wins defensive battle against LSU, clinches 6-seed in SEC Tournament

"They were playing a lot harder than we were (in the first quarter) and we picked it up in the second quarter."

<p>Daisa Alexander (0) during Auburn women's basketball vs. LSU on March 3, 2019, in Baton Rouge, La. Via Auburn Athletics.</p>

Daisa Alexander (0) during Auburn women's basketball vs. LSU on March 3, 2019, in Baton Rouge, La. Via Auburn Athletics.

The game was a low-scoring defensive battle, but Auburn hung tough during the final day of the regular season to topple LSU 54-46 on Sunday afternoon in Baton Rouge.

Auburn (21-8, 9-7 in the SEC) now goes into next week's SEC Tournament in Greenville, S.C. as the 6-seed and will play the winner of Alabama and Vanderbilt on Thursday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. CST. The Tigers finish up SEC play at 9-7 and have clinched a winning record in SEC play for the first time since 2009. 

"I knew if we played our cards right, we could get that six-seed," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "You get that, you're playing the late game, and you're playing a team that just played the night before.

Auburn capitalized on a 20-7 second quarter to build a double-digit lead and getting the lead to its largest at 16 in the fourth. 

"The second quarter, we kind of set the tone," Williams-Flournoy said. "They were playing a lot harder than we were (in the first quarter) and we picked it up in the second quarter."

Daisa Alexander led all scorers with 16 points and Crystal Primm added 11 of her own for Auburn. Abigayle Jackson coming off the bench had a season-high nine points, all in the first half. Unique Thompson came up short in securing a double-double but finished with nine points and 10 rebounds. Erica Sanders got it done defensively with a season-high four steals. 

Auburn shot 35.7 percent from the field to LSU's 36.4 percent, but Auburn took advantage of LSU's 24 turnovers and turned those into 25 points. Auburn would go onto finish the game with 14 steals.   

A slow first quarter of action saw LSU leading 14-11, but Auburn went on to outscore LSU in the second quarter to the tune of 20-7. Jackson topped her season-high in scoring just in the first half, leading Auburn to a 31-21 lead at halftime. Auburn scored 17 points off LSU's 13 turnovers in the first half. 

The third quarter was low scoring from both teams, and Auburn led 42-30 at the end of three. While Auburn saw this lead expand to as many as 16 in the fourth, LSU though came storming back and cut the lead down to seven late in the fourth, but a clutch jumper from Primm put Auburn back up by nine and sealed the win. 

Ayna Mitchell led LSU with 15 points and 21 rebounds. Teammate Faustine Aifuwa added 13 points. 

Auburn's win was the sixth SEC road victory this season, besting the previous school record of five from 1989 and 2009. The 21 regular season wins are also the most under Williams-Flournoy.


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