Despite leading for more than 34 minutes, Auburn women’s basketball suffered its first loss of the season Friday night in Lubbock, as Texas Tech rallied late behind a pair of clutch 3-pointers from Jalynn Bristow to edge the Tigers 73-71 at United Supermarkets Arena.
Auburn (3-1) built a lead that grew as large as 13 points in the third quarter and still carried a seven-point cushion into the final period, but the Lady Raiders (4-0) chipped away over the final 10 minutes, took their first lead with under two minutes to play and held on through a frantic finish to escape with a two-point win, 73-71.
“We have to stop fouling,” head coach Larry Vickers said. “Defensively, we did a terrible job in the second half of just containing the basketball and keeping people in front of us. We’re going to give up a lot of 70-point games if we continue to do so.”
Kaitlyn Duhon was the driving force for Auburn, scoring a game-high 20 points on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting night while adding six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Phoenix Stotijn followed with 15 points behind three 3-pointers, and Jessica Peterson contributed 10 points and six rebounds. Ja’Mia Harris finished with eight points, while Quanirah Montague gave the Tigers a lift off the bench with six points, five rebounds and three steals.
The Tigers came out sharp, with Stotijn knocking down a pair of early 3-pointers to set the tone and Peterson adding two baskets before Danielle Osho buried a transition 3-pointer that pushed the advantage to 13-4. Auburn stretched the margin to 17-6 before Texas Tech began to find its footing, and Sania Richardson closed out the first-quarter scoring with a jumper that sent the Tigers into the second period ahead 19-10.
Texas Tech answered in the second quarter, getting hot from the perimeter with four 3-pointers and outscoring Auburn 24-17 to pull even late in the half. Duhon and Zaniyah Williams steadied the Tigers by combining for four free throws in the closing seconds, allowing Auburn to take a slim lead into the locker room at 36-34.
Auburn responded coming out of halftime, opening the third quarter on a 14-5 run as Harris attacked the rim for a pair of layups and Stotijn connected on her third 3-pointer of the night to build a 50-39 advantage. Harris later knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:45 left in the period to give the Tigers their largest lead of the night, and although Texas Tech closed the quarter with a late push, Auburn still led 58-51 heading into the fourth.
The Lady Raiders steadily cut into the deficit in the final period before Bristow drilled a 3-pointer with 1:49 remaining to give Texas Tech its first lead since early in the game. She came right back with another 3-pointer at the 1:23 mark to stretch the advantage to four, but Auburn kept fighting as Richardson and Duhon combined for three free throws, with Duhon’s pair coming off her own steal, to pull the Tigers within one with 43 seconds left. Osho came up with a big defensive stop by blocking a Destinee Hooks jumper, giving Auburn a chance to take the lead, but Richardson’s layup in the final seconds rolled off, and Ambrosia Cole split a pair of free throws at the other end with four seconds left. Montague’s last-second attempt to tie was blocked by Bristow at the buzzer as Texas Tech held on, 73-71.
Auburn shot 48 percent from the field on 24-of-50 attempts, controlled the paint with a 30-22 advantage in interior scoring, and turned 20 Texas Tech turnovers into 21 points, but the Tigers were outscored 22-13 in the fourth quarter and made just 18 of their 27 free throws.
Bristow led Texas Tech with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Hooks added 12 points.
Auburn returns to Neville Arena on Tuesday to host Seton Hall for Movie Night at Neville, where fans can enjoy free popcorn while supplies last. The game can be streamed on SEC Network+, with audio available on AuburnTigers.com, the Auburn Athletics app and locally on ESPN 106.7 FM.
