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A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn opens SEC play with loss at Vanderbilt

"... It was great that we forced 29 turnovers, but then we gave it back to them 27 times."

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<p>Auburn player Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu (30) moves down the court at the Auburn v. Wofford Women’s Basketball Game on November 6, 2019 in Auburn, AL</p>

  

Auburn player Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu (30) moves down the court at the Auburn v. Wofford Women’s Basketball Game on November 6, 2019 in Auburn, AL

Auburn may have been given two free throws before the tipoff due to an administrative foul, but after making one of two free throws and then a layup after winning the tipoff, things quickly soured for the Tigers. 

Auburn did outscore Vanderbilt in both the third and fourth quarter by a combined score of 37-30 and forced 20 of its 29 turnovers in the second half. Outside of the early 3-0 lead, though, Auburn was never within reach as Vanderbilt controlled the game in a 77-55 blowout win over the Tigers.

Vanderbilt finished the game shooting 59.6% from the field and outscored Auburn in the paint 46-24. Auburn shot 28.3% in the contest but did perform well on free throws, going 78.3% at the line. 

"It was two of the things that we talked about before the game – points in the paint and rebounding," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "You can't give up 46 points in the paint. And we wanted them to shoot the 3. They're not a 3-point shooting team – they went 1-for-3 – so why are we out there guarding them and letting them drive to the basket? Then we got out-rebounded 39-30. And it was great that we forced 29 turnovers, but then we gave it back to them 27 times."

Unique Thompson’s NCAA-leading double-double streak continued against Vanderbilt. The forward finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes of action bringing her streak of double-doubles to 12 consecutive this season. She also recorded three steals and two assists in the game.

Thompson wasn’t Auburn’s only scorer in double-digits as Brooke Moore led the way with 17 points and Erin Howard added 13. The Commodores were led in scoring by forward Mariella Fasoula with 21 points and teammate Demi Washington had 17. 

Auburn heads back to Auburn Arena for its next contest against No. 20 Arkansas (12-2, 0-1 in SEC) on Jan. 5 at 1 p.m. CST. 


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