Auburn, AL (EETV)- It had been 20 games since Auburn had beaten a ranked opponent, but tonight, that streak was almost snapped as the Tigers lost an OT heartbreaker to the ninth-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs 92-85.
History was made tonight as Unique Thompson broke Auburn's all-time rebounding record with a total of eleven on the night as well as scoring 24 points. Thompson earned her 20th double-double of the season which is the most of any women's player in the country.
“I thought our young ladies did a great job tonight just playing hard,” Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “Mississippi State is ranked No. 9 in the country, and I thought our kids gave them everything that they could."
Auburn got off to a fast start as they were able to take a four point lead going into the second quarter. Auburn would get hot from outside the arc as they would take an eleven point lead going into halftime.
Coming out of the break, Mississippi State would begin to chip away at the Auburn lead. The Bulldogs would take the lead late in the fourth quarter as they leaned on their star player Rickea Jackson.
Auburn found themselves down four with under a minute to play, but with back to back fouls called, they would tie the game with free throws from Thompson and Daisa Alexander. Alexander went 12-12 from the free-throw line which set an Auburn record for most made in a game without missing.
Mississippi State would have one shot to win it but a shot from Andra Espinoza-Hunter would not find the bottom of net which would send the game into overtime.
The Bulldogs would gain a four point point advantage and not look back as Rickea Jackson made some crucial buckets on her way to scoring 34 points in total.
With the loss, Auburn's record moves to 9-15 (3-10 SEC) and they will face another ranked opponent in the Texas A&M Aggies at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas.
