Unique Thompson picked up her 22nd double-double of the season, but Arkansas’ 3-point shooting was too much as the Tigers fell 90-68 Friday afternoon in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
Auburn (11-18) saw four players score in double-figures and grabbed more rebounds than Arkansas (23-7), but the Tigers were unable to slow down the SEC’s top-scoring team as the Razorbacks topped the 90-point mark for the 11th time this season.
“I just want to thank my young ladies for continuing to play hard,” Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “We knew today would be a tough game if we didn’t get out and defend the 3-point line.
“I thought we started with great energy. It was just hard to keep it going. Then playing such a tough game yesterday, I’m sure their legs got a little tired. But they continued to fight. I’m just proud of the way they ended the season.”
Kiyae’ White led Auburn with a career-high 15 points, hitting 7-of-9 attempts from the floor. She also pulled down eight rebounds and had a team-best four assists. Erin Howard added 14 points and four rebounds. And Daisa Alexander scored 12 points in her final Auburn game.
Thompson’s 12-point, 15-rebound night was her 22nd double-double of the season, second-most in the nation this year, and the 42nd of her career. She also added three assists and a steal.
Arkansas hit 17-of-42 3-point attempts on the night, an SEC Tournament record, and shot 47.8 percent (32-of-67) overall. The Tigers shot 42.4 percent (28-of-66) but were just 6-of-26 from 3-point range (23.1%). A day after forcing Vanderbilt into 25 turnovers, the Tigers were only about to get eight from Arkansas, turning those into 10 points. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks scored 24 points on fast-break chances. Auburn did out-rebound Arkansas, 38-36.
The Tigers hit their first three shots and jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead in the first 90 seconds. Despite going just 2-of-10 the rest of the first quarter, Auburn led 14-11 after one. But the Razorbacks ended the second quarter on a 20-3 run to take a 37-24 lead at the half.
Arkansas’ long-range shooting kept coming in the second half as they hit seven 3s in the third quarter and five more in the fourth. The Tigers shot 57.1 percent in the fourth quarter but were unable to make any headway against the Arkansas attack.
Alexis Tolefree scored 30 points to lead Arkansas, and Chelsea Dungee added 23. The two combined to hit 12-of-23 3-point attempts.
