AUBURN - Auburn women's basketball team gave up the lead in the final minute and fell 61-58 to South Carolina at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum on Thursday night.
The Tigers, defending Southeastern Conference champions, fell to 12-11 overall and 3-7 in league play. South Carolina improved to 12-10 and 5-5.
Alli Smalley's jumper gave Auburn a 59-58 lead with inside the final minute, but freshman point guard Morgan Toles was called for a foul while scrambling for a rebound with 26 seconds left. Jewel May hit both free throws to put the Gamecocks on top.
Smalley missed on a chance to give the Tigers the lead. After South Carolna made two free throws, Toles missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
“Offensive rebounding really killed us in the second half, and I thought that was the difference in the game,” Auburn coach Nell Fortner said. “We were making some good defensive stops, but we were not able to get the
ball to finish the play out, which hurt us tonight.”
Smalley led Auburn with 16 points. Center KeKe Carrier had 14 points and 12 rebounds for here sixth double-double of the season.
Auburn plays at Alabama on Sunday.
