While the Tigers had a few standout offensive performances, it was their defense that led to their 20-point loss to Florida on Thursday, 83-63 inside Auburn Arena.
Sophomore guard Brooke Moore led the Tigers with 14 points, going 6-for-12 from the field and shooting 2-of-6 from 3-point range. The Auburn bench came through as well, outscoring the Gators bench 20-16.
However, it was clear from the first quarter that Florida controlled the game, as it took the lead with 7:11 left in the first and did not lose it it for the rest of the game.
Florida was able to control the game by running the transition game. While forcing 16 turnovers and giving up 17, they were able to take advantage quickly, scoring 26 points off turnovers. Auburn only managed nine.
The other advantage Florida had was its 3-point shooting. Freshman guard Lavender Briggs went 3-of-5 from behind the arc. Florida as a team shot 10-17 from behind the arc, and while the Tigers shot 12 more 3-pointers, they only managed to sink seven of them, finishing at 24.1%.
Unique Thompson, whose streak of 12 consecutive double-doubles ended the previous game against Arkansas, struggled in the first half, with zero attempts from the floor and three rebounds. However, she bounced back in the second half, finishing the game with 10 points and 10 rebounds, with seven of those boards on the offensive glass.
“... We really got on Unique at halftime,” Coach Terri Willilams-Flournoy said. “I didn’t really think that she was working hard to get open. ... I thought she came back in the second half, listened a little bit more, and continued to work inside like she’s very capable of doing.”
Williams-Flournoy said she hopes that Auburn’s defense will improve significantly heading into Auburn's next game Sunday at Auburn Arena against Alabama. Tip against the Crimson Tide is set for 2 p.m. CST.
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Dylan Fox, Junior in Civil Site Design Engineering, joined The Plainsman as a sports writer in Spring 2020. From Geneva, IL.
