Nov. 23, 2006
ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands - KeKe Carrier notched a double-double and two other Tigers put double figures on the scoreboard, but poor shooting in the second half left Auburn (3-1) with a 75-64 loss to Xavier (4-0) Thursday night in the opening round of the Paradise Jam. Carrier scored 10 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Sherell Hobbs added 19 and DeWanna Bonner scored 16.
"They showed a lot more poise than we did down the stretch," Auburn head coach Nell Fortner said. "I felt like we played with energy tonight, but we didn't defend penetration very well and we missed some easy shots."
Auburn shot 35.1% from the field in the game and made only 12 shots on 43 attempts in the second half. The poor shooting prevented the Tigers from keeping up with a Xavier team that scored 17 fast-break points and 48 points in the paint. Prior to the loss, Auburn had never given up 75 points to a non-conference opponent under Fortner.
Xavier pulled away from the Tigers with a 10-4 run midway through the second half. With Auburn trailing by just six at the 9:02 mark, Xavier's Joei Clyburn hit a pair of free throws and a fast-break layup on consecutive possessions to expand the Xavier lead to 10. Auburn's Tamela McCorvey and Xavier's Miranda Green each made a shot on her team's ensuing possession.
After McCorvey made two free throws to cut the lead to eight, Jordan Greenleaf put Michelle Miller on the foul line, where she dropped two free throws to up the advantage to 10. After an errant Bonner jumpshot, Amber Harris converted another fast-break opportunity to increase the Xavier lead to 12. The Musketeers would lead by as many as 13 later in the period, but Auburn never climbed within six points again.
Xavier took the lead for good, 39-37, with a three-pointer from Suntana Granderson at the 15:55 mark of the second half. The Musketeers opened the second frame with 5 consecutive points to take a 34-32 lead before Greenleaf and Bonner hit shots to put Auburn back ahead.
Auburn took a 32-29 lead to the locker room at halftime after forfeiting a 15 point advantage earlier in the period. Xavier jumped out to an 8-4 lead before Auburn scored 19 unanswered points to pull ahead, 23-8.
After the rally, the Tigers went cold from the field and turned the ball over four times in the final six minutes of the half. During that stretch, Xavier shot 7-of-14 from the field to cut the deficit to three.
Clyburn was the leading scorer for Xavier, netting 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting. She also had six rebounds, four assists and three blocks in the contest.
The Tigers out rebounded Xavier 43-31 in the game and scored 21 points on second chances. The turnover battle went the Musketeers way, 14-13, but Auburn put 19 points on the board off of miscues compared to 15 for Xavier.
Auburn continues play at the Paradise Jam with a Friday afternoon contest against Marquette. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. CT.