Aaliyah Nye scores 29, No. 18 Alabama women rally from 16-point deficit to beat Auburn 66-50
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Aaliyah Nye hit six 3-pointers and finished with 29 points on Sunday night to help No. 18 Alabama overcome a 16-point first-half deficit and beat in-state rival Auburn 66-50.
Sarah Ashlee Barker added 13 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals for Alabama (22-6, 9-5 SEC) and Zaay Green scored 12 points.
DeYona Gaston hit a jumper that made it 34-all about 3 1/2 minutes into the third quarter but Nye responded with back-to-back 3s to spark a 15-3 run. After Yuting Deng’s three-point play trimmed Auburn’s deficit to five points, Nye scored eight points in a 10-0 run that made it 63-48 with 2:29 to play.
Gaston led the Tigers with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Auburn (12-15, 3-11), which has lost four games in a row and five of its last six, committed nine of its 21 turnovers in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers scored 13 of the first 15 points and took their biggest lead when Mar’shaun Bostic converted a three-point play that made it 29-13 with 4:51 left in the second quarter. Alabama, which was 4-of-17 shooting to that point, made 7 of 9 from the field as it closed the first half on a 17-0 run to take a one-point lead into the intermission. Nye had 10 points in the run and Alabama never again trailed.
The Tigers lead the all-time series 52-34, but Alabama has won seven of the last eight meetings.
Auburn visits Georgia and Alabama plays host to No. 7 LSU on Thursday.
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