March 22, 2007
Blacksburg, Va. -
The Auburn Tigers (21-12 overall) recorded a road win over Virginia Tech (19-15 overall), 81-73 on Thursday in <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Blacksburg, Va., to advance to the "Elite Eight" of the WNIT.
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"We hit the big shots tonight," head coach Nell Fortner said. "I couldn't be more proud of this team. They wanted this game tonight and I think our will took over in the second half. Everybody needs to do their part in the postseason, and that is what our kids did tonight."
DeWanna Bonner scored 27 points on the night, one away from her career high, and grabbed nine rebounds. Tamela McCorvey recorded 17 points, while Whitney Boddie had 25 points and seven assists.
Virginia Tech took its first lead since the 8:53 mark of the first half on a pair of free throws to make it 44-43 with 14:08 to go, and only led one more time, 54-53 with 8:12 left. Auburn took control the rest of the way, and increased its lead to as many as 10 before finishing with the 81-73 win.
Britney Anderson led the way for the Hokies with 24 points, while Brittany Cook registered 14 points.
Auburn found itself down by as many as eight on two occasions in the first half, but went on a 10-2 run over 4:32 to tie the game at 23. The Tigers led the rest of the half and took a 37-32 lead into halftime.
Auburn shot 54.7 percent from the field (29-of-53), including 80 percent from three-point range (4-of-5).
The Tigers will now face the winner of Kansas State and Illinois with the place and time yet to be determined.