Despite having three players score in the double figures, Auburn fell to the No. 20 Lady Vols on the road this Sunday, 88-54.
“They’re big, and we knew they were big,” head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “We got good shots, we just needed to knock some of those shots down early. We started hitting some shots later, but the shots we needed earlier would have helped and given them a little momentum.
Alaina Rice and Unique Thompson led the way, with both posting double-digit point totals and five rebounds. On defense, Honesty Scott-Grayson and Aicha Coulibaly contributed with three steals apiece.
“I told them at halftime, as bad as we played in the first quarter, we were only down by 10. It was tough, when you’re not playing with many players and play that many games. Had we had more numbers, it’s ok, but that’s a lot of minutes you’re asking these young ladies to play. It affects our game plan, we’re not able to press as much. We still forced 18 turnovers, but the legs just have to be there.”
Tennessee posted the best FG% of any team against Auburn this season, going 34-of-59 (58%) from the field. Auburn was held to a FG% of just 31%.
While the hard-pressing Tiger defense forced the Lady Vols into 18 turnovers, Tennessee dominated the boards, out-rebounding Auburn 47-29. Tennessee was led in scoring by Rennia Davis, who posted 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting.
Auburn ends the regular-season 5-18 and 0-15 in SEC play.
The Tigers will enter the upcoming SEC Tournament as the No. 13 seed, facing Florida in the opening round. The tourney is scheduled to begin on March 3rd.
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