Vanderbilt took a shot at the Auburn women’s NCAA Tournament hopes Thursday night.

And the No. 23 Commodores kept shooting, beating the Tigers, 73-56, at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Vanderbilt shot 50 percent from behind the 3-point arc, making 10-of-20 shots to drop Auburn’s record to below .500 in the SEC at 6-7 with one game to play.

AU (18-9 overall) needs to at least finish even in the conference — and have a good showing in the SEC Tournament — to have a shot at the NCAA’s postseason. Last season, the Tigers were .500 heading into the SEC Tournament and lost in the first round to South Carolina, keeping them out of the NCAAs.

A win Thursday would have guaranteed the Tigers at least a 7-7 SEC mark; instead, Auburn needs to beat Arkansas at home Sunday just to stay on the bubble, making it a must-win situation.

“We all know that,” Auburn head coach Nell Fortner said of Sunday’s game. “Sure it is. Yeah, it is — if we have any hopes at all of getting to the (NCAA) tournament.

“If we can win — beat Arkansas — and get to .500, in this conference, I think we deserve a shot and can get a bid. It’s a very important game.”

Vanderbilt (21-7, 10-3 SEC) used a 20-3 first-half run to distance itself from Auburn, with Jessica Mooney leading the way. The sophomore guard scored 19 on the night, including 13 during that first-half run, to give the Commodores a 42-26 halftime lead.

It was a career night for Mooney, whose previous high was 16.

“They just shot the ball extremely well,” Fortner said. “I thought Mooney was the real X-factor. She was the difference today.”

And poor shooting didn’t help the Tigers, either.

“We didn’t respond with any kind of good shooting,” Fortner said. “It really knocks your confidence out.”

Auburn shot 32 percent from the field, and made just three of 14 3-point attempts.

The second half was much like the first for the Tigers, with Vanderbilt taking advantage of quality shots and a stingy defense. The closest Auburn could cut the lead was 11 early in the second after Sherell Hobbs hit a 3-pointer to make it 44-33.

From there, Vanderbilt went on a 10-2 run to extend its lead to 20.

It was the 12th consecutive win for Vandy over Auburn since 2000.

“They are a tough, hard-nosed team,” Fortner said of Vanderbilt. “It just seems like when we play them, for whatever reason, we’re just short.”

Merideth Marsh also scored 19 for Vanderbilt, going 6-for-8 from 3-point range.

DeWanna Bonner had a double-double, leading the Tigers in scoring with 19 points. She also pulled down 10 rebounds. Hobbs added 18 points in the loss, while Cassie Moore grabbed 12 rebounds for the Tigers.

Bonner also knows how important Sunday’s game — a 2 p.m. tipoff — is for the Tigers’ tournament hopes.

“I think we can still get there. We just got to go in and win this game and go into the (SEC) tournament with that mindset.

“Definitely (it’s a must-win). But every game is.”

Sunday is also Senior Day for the Tigers, where they will honor Tamela McCorvey, Alexis Ogubie and Juanitta Wallace.

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