NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Auburn head coach Joe Ciampi expected the Vanderbilt game to come down to a battle of defenses. He's just glad his team won.

"These are the two best defenses in the SEC, and they certainly played that way," said Ciampi after Conswella Sparrow sank two free throws with one second left to give No. 10 Auburn a 55-54 victory over Vanderbilt.

"The game was back and forth. We were glad to have the last shot."

Auburn's Tasha Hamilton tied the game at 52-52 on a layup with 50 seconds left in the game. She then made a free throw seconds later to give Auburn (14-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) the lead.

But with six seconds left, Zuzi Klimesov made a layup to put Vanderbilt (14-3, 2-1) ahead, 54-53. Ashley McElhi then fouled Sparrow to send her to the line.

"I couldn't watch Sparrow's free throws, but she came through for us," Ciampi said.

LeCoe Willingham led Auburn with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Hamilton added 11. Klimesov finished with 18 points, and Jennifer Holmes had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

"One of the lessons from this game is that we must realize that we'll be in similar situations as this another half dozen times before this year is over," Vanderbilt head coach Jim Foster said.

"In this league, every game can come down to a few plays. We certainly have to improve our execution in several phases of the game."