Tigers force 25 turnovers but can’t capitalize, drop fifth straight

AUBURN – The score was tied 11 times and the lead changed hands on six occasions and with 32 seconds left, Auburn had the ball trailing by three.

Auburn point guard Najat Ouardad had struggled mightily in the first half, turning it over five times with just one assist, but had regrouped in the second half and been mistake-free.

The Tigers drew up a play for Ouardad to find a sharpshooter Blanche Alverson for a game-tying shot.

“It’s a play that we run all the time,” Auburn coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “She had to get the ball into the post so we could run the rest of the play.”

But Ouardad could not get the ball to the post, turning it over to LSU’s Danielle Ballard who made a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game and squash any chance for Auburn, which lost 59-55 before a crowd of 3,172 at Auburn Arena Thursday night. It was the fifth straight loss for Auburn (13-8, 2-6 SEC) after a great start to the season.

“Hasina (Muhammad) and I were supposed to screen for Blanche to get a three,” said Auburn forward Tyrese Tanner, who led Auburn with 17 points. “That was the plan, but we turned it over.”

After Muhammad (11 points) tied the score at 44 with 8:08 to play, Auburn stayed within five points until the closing seconds but could not manage to regain the lead.

“It’s very frustrating. The game is right there,” Williams-Flournoy said “The game is right there for you to win. At that point young ladies have to learn how to have a will to win. They have to do everything, at that point, that it takes to win the basketball game and they will. They have no other choice but to learn to do that.”

Auburn forced LSU (13-8, 4-4) into 25 turnovers but could not take full advantage of their chances, scoring only 10 points on fast breaks. Adrienne Webb led LSU with 21 points and Ballard had four steals, including the game-deciding takeaway.

“Even though we turned the ball over, we turned (Auburn) over,” said Webb, who went 8-for-16 from the field with three 3-pointers and two free throws. “I guess it kind of evened out, but we have to do a better job of taking care of the ball.”

Tanner was able to find success on the inside and Auburn handled LSU’s 2-3 zone well, scoring 32 points in the paint.

Auburn went just 1-for-9 from three-point range in the game – an Alverson three with 1.2 seconds left.

“You have to shoot the ball with confidence because we have a few kids that just weren’t being guarded at all,” Williams-Flournoy said. “Blanche is really the only 3-point shooter on your team, so of course they’re going to try to take her out and always cheating towards her.”

Auburn led by as many as seven in the first half but went into halftime trailing 28-26. Muhammad scored eight of her 11 points in the second half and had four steals but it was not enough to put AU back in the win column.

“We have to regain our focus,” she said. “We keep making the same mistakes over and over again. We have to improve.”