After sleepwalking through the better part of three games, Auburn showed a little life in the final minute against LSU on Thursday.

Trailing by 8 with 1:06 to go, the Tigers knocked down three 3-pointers in the final 66 seconds and came up just short in a 55-52 loss to LSU.

It was Auburn’s third loss in a row. But the way it ended had to be encouraging for Tigers coach Nell Fortner, especially with her team still transitioning to life without senior forward Jordan Greenleaf, who was dismissed for “personal reasons” last week.

“I thought we adjusted well,” Fortner said. “It took a half, but we have that out of the way now and we are off and running. I was pleased with how hard they competed. We gave it a shot there, we had a shot at the end, and that was nice.”

Auburn played with a new-look lineup Thursday, with junior Chantel Hilliard stepping in for Greenleaf and freshman Jassany Williams starting in place of Parrisha Simmons, who came off the bench.

Still, the Tigers showed signs of missing Greenleaf.

Hilliard and Williams combined for 8 points and seven rebounds. Greenleaf averaged 9.1 points and 7.4 rebounds by herself in the Tigers’ first 23 games.

She also provided a competent second scorer for the Tigers on nights when guards Alli Smalley, Blanche Alverson and Morgan Toles were a bit off.

Smalley scored 18 against LSU, but Toles and Alverson struggled, and Auburn couldn’t find a consistent second scoring threat.

Arkansas (16-7, 4-7 SEC), who the Tigers (13-11, 6-5) travel to take on today at 4 p.m. in a nationally televised game on ESPN2, have been able to count on scoring from three players all season: 5-foot-9 guards C’eira Ricketts (13.8 ppg) and Lyndsay Harris (13.1 ppg), and 6-3 center Sarah Watkins (13.2 ppg).

The Razorbacks are also looking to snap a three-game losing streak, a stretch that includes overtime losses to Georgia and South Carolina.

Auburn has won six of the past seven meetings between the teams, with the Razorbacks’ lone win coming last February.

“They have a really nice group of players. You have to be prepared to guard the on-ball screens,” Fortner said. “They return a lot of the same players that have been there the last two years, so we are pretty familiar with them. But, even with what we know, they are still a very dangerous team that can score some points.

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