Women’s Basketball Rallies Late to Defeat Auburn

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri women’s basketball (13-2, 2-0 SEC) team defeated Auburn 62-56 (10-4, 0-2), on Sunday afternoon at Neville Arena.

Led by senior forward Hayley Frank (Strafford, Mo.), the Tigers utilized a 7-1 scoring run with less than two minutes remaining in the contest to seal their second conference victory.

Frank set the tone in the second quarter with nine points and finished with 23 in the game. The senior added six rebounds and a block to conclude her stat line.

Graduate guard Katlyn Gilbert (Indianapolis, Ind.) submitted a complimentary all-around performance with 14 points, five boards and four steals.

Missouri utilized 28 points in the paint while limiting the hosts to just 20 of their own around the basket. In addition, Mizzou connected on 33 percent (7-of-21) of its attempts from long range and locked down the Navy and Orange from beyond the arc as Auburn shot a dismal 17 percent (2-of-12) from 3-point range.

TURNING POINT

Clinging to a four-point advantage with just under two minutes remaining, junior guard Mama Dembele (Manlleu, Spain) drew two defenders on the left wing, dished the ball to Frank at the top of the arc and the senior delivered, pushing Missouri’s lead to seven. Freshman guard Ashton Judd (West Plains, Mo.) added a corner triple on the very next possession to seal the victory.

TOP TIGERS

• Frank’s performance was her second straight with 20+ and her fifth this season, Missouri is 5-0 when she crosses the point threshold
• Gilbert finished with a team-high +/- of 11 and was an efficient 6-of-10 from the floor to reach her point total
• Judd totaled nine points in the contest and corralled four rebounds

GAME NOTES

• Missouri improved to 10-6 all-time against Auburn
• Gilbert totaled four steals for the second consecutive game
• Mizzou improved to 16-3 all-time when Frank scores 20 or more points
• Missouri is now 4-0 when trailing after the first quarter and 13-0 when leading at the end of the third
• Frank scored her 1,300 career point and now has a total of 1,318
• Haley Troup (Gadsden, Ala.) tied Cindy Kiser (1976-80) for the most appearances in program history at 131

UP NEXT

Missouri will return home Mizzou Arena to face Arkansas at 6 p.m. on Thursday. The contest will air on SECN+ and KTGR.

For all the latest information on Mizzou Women’s Basketball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.