Nov. 17, 2006
AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn women scored early and often in an 85-47 rout of Winston-Salem State Friday night at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. The win moved the Tigers to 3-0 on the young season and dropped the Lady Rams to 0-3.
"I thought the game was good in the sense that we ran the ball in transition," Auburn head coach Nell Fortner said. "We got into lanes better than we have in the past. It was a point of emphasis for us to fill lanes and score in transition, and we did that tonight."
DeWanna Bonner returned from an injury to lead Auburn in scoring, hanging a career-high 28 points on the Lady Rams in just 29 minutes. She added 11 rebounds and five assists for her fifth career double-double. Three other Tigers also managed double figures in the game. Alexis Ogubie netted 12 points, while Tamela McCorvey scored 11 and Sherell Hobbs scored 10. McCorvey also dished 11 assists for the first double-double of her Division I career.
Auburn scored 30 points in a largely inconsequential second half as every Tiger in uniform saw action. Auburn's 85 points was its second highest total of the season.
The Tigers pulled away late in the first half, scoring 15 points in the final five minutes while allowing WSSU just two baskets over the same stretch. The 17 points allowed by Auburn in the opening period were the fewest this season and the fewest allowed in a first half by Auburn since the 2005 season-opener vs. Texas Pan-American.
Auburn opened the game with 11 unanswered points, nine of which came from McCorvey three-pointers. McCorvey finished 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and 4-of-9 overall.
Auburn shot 50.7% from the field as a team against just 30.9% for the Lady Rams. The Tigers also created 22 turnovers in the game, which they turned into 25 points. Auburn also recorded 26 assists, the most for the team since a Dec. 20, 2005 win at Furman.
Candace Saunders and Shalonda Carter scored ten points each to lead WSSU in scoring.
Auburn's next contests will take place in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands at the Paradise Jam. The Tigers take on Xavier Nov. 23 at 4:30 p.m. CT, Marquette Nov. 24 at 12 p.m. CT and Western Michigan Nov. 25 at 12 p.m. CT. Auburn returns to Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Nov. 29 for a 6 p.m. CT contest with Jacksonville State.