COLUMBIA, Mo. (Interstat) — The Auburn women’s basketball team built a large early lead and relied on a disruptive defense to defeat Missouri 71-58 in a Southeastern Conference game Thursday night at Mizzou Arena.

Auburn opened with an 18-8 first-quarter advantage and never trailed, stifling Missouri with 17 steals. The visiting Tigers forced 29 turnovers, converting them into consistent scoring despite shooting just 37.7% from the field. Kaitlyn Duhon led Auburn with 19 points. Missouri’s Grace Slaughter scored a game-high 19 points in the loss.

Auburn improved to 14-13 overall. Missouri fell to 16-12. An announced crowd of 2,804 attended.