Peterson’s Double-Double Powers Auburn Past Southern Miss, 56-48

Jessica Peterson notched her first double-double at Auburn and took control in the fourth quarter Thursday at Neville Arena, leading the Tigers to a hard-fought 56-48 win over Southern Miss. Peterson finished with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 19 rebounds.

“Offensively, you can see we’re still learning each other,” Auburn coach Larry Vickers said. “Huge rebounding night from Jessica Peterson. That’s what we brought her here to do: be a senior, be a leader, somebody who’s been in these close games. She did a tremendous job.”

Danielle Osho led Auburn in scoring for the second straight game with 16 points, matching her total from the season opener, and added seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

Both defenses had the upper hand for much of the night, but Auburn made five consecutive shots in the first quarter to take a lead it would never give up. Osho and Sania Richardson each finished reverse layups as the Tigers took an 18-11 lead after the first quarter.

Auburn played without all-SEC defender Kaitlyn Duohn and still held the Golden Eagles without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes in the first half, forcing 13 consecutive missed shots. Osho, a sophomore transfer from Miami, knocked down a second-chance 3-pointer early in the second quarter to give Auburn a 12-point lead, and she made both of the game’s 3-pointers as the Tigers took a 32-24 lead into halftime.

Auburn made only two field goals in the third quarter, and Southern Miss closed the gap to two points heading into the final 10 minutes. That’s when Peterson took over. She scored the Tigers’ first six points of the fourth quarter, including back-to-back bank shots in the paint, one with each hand, to give Auburn a little breathing room at 46-40.

“It was super important, helping get this team a win,” said Peterson, who ranked No. 4 nationally in rebounds two seasons ago at SMU. “My guards were looking for me. It takes a team effort to see the open man and dominate inside.”

The Golden Eagles weren’t going back to Hattiesburg without a fight. Southern Miss made a pair of free throws, then added a steal and layup to pull within two once more midway through the fourth quarter. Auburn’s Syriah Daniels made several key plays down the stretch, grabbing a defensive rebound and feeding Osho for a transition layup that put Auburn ahead 50-46 with two minutes to play. A minute later, Daniels converted her only shot attempt of the night, a layup with 1:05 remaining that gave Auburn a six-point lead. The second-generation Tiger then came up with a steal with 24 seconds left to seal the 56-48 victory.

“Huge plays,” Vickers said. “Our forward room is really good. There’s been so many instances where she makes huge plays for us defensively in the clutch.”

Ja’Mia Harris made six free throws in the fourth quarter, going 8-for-10 from the line and tying Peterson with 14 points.

Auburn held Southern Miss to 22.4-percent shooting, including 0-for-17 from 3-point range.

“We did a pretty good job overall for 90 percent of the game of sticking to our scouts and understanding our closeouts,” Vickers said. “When we grab the first rebound, we’re a pretty good defensive team. Early we didn’t do that but late we did.”

Auburn is off to a 2-0 start for the fifth consecutive season. The Tigers wrap up their three-game homestand Tuesday when they host Furman at 11 a.m. CT at Neville Arena for the program’s annual Education Day, welcoming thousands of local elementary school students.