Auburn advanced past the first day in Greenville.
The Tigers beat Vanderbilt 77-67 in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday. The matchup was the third meeting this season between Auburn and Vanderbilt.
The teams split the first two games of the season series with both Auburn and Vanderbilt winning their home games.
“When you play a team three times, it's always going to be a tough game,” Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said.
Auburn came to play in the second. The Tigers went into halftime down one but came out shooting 55% from the floor. The Tigers were powered by a strong second-half performance from their two-headed monster of Unique Thompson and Daisa Alexander.
Auburn outscored Vanderbilt 43-32 in the second half.
Auburn built its lead by going an 8-0 run from 4:52 to 2:34 in the third period. The Tigers never looked back from that point on, leading until the final whistle.
Auburn built up a 16-point lead by going on a 17-2 run that spanned more than seven minutes in the fourth period.
Thompson continued to be the leader for this team. The junior had 21 points, nine rebounds and two steals.
Alexander was the focal point of the Auburn offense in the second half, scoring 14 points. She gathered two assists and four rebounds.
“We’re using this tournament to play for Daisa,” Thompson said.
Alexander was determined that today was not going to be her last day in an Auburn uniform.
“I didn’t want to go out like that; I wanted to keep playing,” Alexander said.
The guard had 19 points, two rebounds and nine assists. Alexander was handing out baskets in the second half as she got seven of her nine assists in that frame.
Sophomore Erin Howard was the Tigers' primary offense in the first half. The stretch forward had nine points in the first half, going 3-of-4 from behind the arc.
In the second half Howard added another six points, making two more from behind the arc. She did not attempt any shots other than 3-pointers. Howard finished the day with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists.
The 13-seed Tigers will play 5-seed Arkansas tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. CST.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
