Nov. 14, 2008
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Auburn's DeWanna Bonner tallied 25 points, eight rebounds and six steals as the No. 20/21 Auburn (1-0) women's basketball team cruised to a 91-53 win over Alabama A&M (0-1) in its season opener in Huntsville, Ala.
The Tigers shot 50 percent from the field and forced 37 Bulldog turnovers in the win. Five Auburn players finished in double-digit scoring while also posting a 50-31 rebounding advantage.
"It is always nice to get a win and that is the most important thing," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner. "It may not have been as pretty as I would have liked it to have been, but it is early, it is our first regular season game."
Fortner used all 10 active players in the game, substituting in a few at a time to keep up Auburn's new fast-paced offensive system.
"It was hard for us to get into a rhythm, but it was probably because I was trying out a lot of different combinations of players," said Fortner. "We are playing at such a fast tempo that I have to sub a lot, so we are going to have to get used to it. We have to get used to people coming in and out and not losing that offensive flow and you just have to get some games under your belt to do that."
While her team forced 37 Bulldog turnovers, picking up 24 steals, Fortner was frustrated with her own team's turnovers - something she plans to address with her team.
"Our biggest concern was the turnovers," said Fortner. "To have more turnovers that assists, that is just something that we cannot be doing and we have to work hard to make sure that does not happen again."
Auburn committed 24 turnovers of its own in the game, compared to 21 assists.
Finishing behind Bonner in scoring was junior KeKe Carrier with 11 points. Carrier also picked up five rebounds and two blocked shots in the win. Senior Trevesha Jackson and Huntsville natives Sherell and Reneisha Hobbs added 10 points each. Carrier and Reneisha Hobbs led a charge off Auburn's bench that resulted in 34 bench points, something Fortner plans to see a lot of.
"I think that is great that we had so many people getting involved, it shows that we have a lot of talent on the team," said Fortner. "The kids have a lot of opportunities to play if they are giving all they have. With the tempo we are trying to play, we have to keep fresh legs on the floor and our depth gives us the opportunity to do some pretty special things. "
Also coming off the bench was senior Whitney Boddie as she sparked the team with five points, seven assists and four steals.
The game was also a homecoming for four of Auburn's players. The Hobbs sisters are Huntsville natives while Alli Smalley (Arab) and Boddie (Florence) are from nearby towns, prompting a large contingent of orange shirts in the crowd.
"There were some nice things that happened, and the crowd let us know about it and that was good," said Fortner. "It was great to get to bring these kids home."
The Auburn women's basketball team returns to action at 6 p.m., Monday with its season-opener at the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers are set to take on Temple (1-0), who defeated Bowling Green 70-55 Friday night in its season-opener.