Nov. 30, 2008
MIAMI - Alli Smalley scored 21 points as the 15th-ranked Auburn women's basketball team (7-0) picked up a 63-52 win against Florida International (1-5) to win the FIU Thanksgiving Classic tournament title. Averaging 15 points in the two tournament games, Smalley was named its MVP following the win over FIU.
"Alli is such a good shooter and when she gets that stroke going, it is hard to stop her," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner. "I thought she did very well today and hit some big shots for us."
Smalley finished 7-of-12 in the game, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. She came two points short of her career-high 23 points set during Auburn's overtime win against Ohio State.
Also named to the FIU Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team were seniors DeWanna Bonner and Sherell Hobbs. Bonner finished Sunday's game with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds while Hobbs had four points and three steals.
Fortner has talked to her team throughout the season about winning championships, not just SEC or NCAA Championships, but the little championships along the road to winning the bigger ones and Sunday's win was the first in that road.
"It is important that you are always competing for something and when you get the opportunity to play a tournament and compete for a championship, it is important that you fight for that and I am pleased that we got the first one," said Fortner.
The Tigers jumped on Florida International early in the game, leading by as many as 16 in the first half. The lead swelled to 25 points in the second half before the Golden Panthers tried to mount a comeback.
"I was pleased with the big lead that we got and I was hoping we could hang on to it, but I am trying to play some different lineups and get the young players some playing time, so we had some combinations on the floor that maybe need more time," said Fortner. "But, we hung on and did a nice job there at the end."
All 11 Tigers on the roster played at least seven of the 40 minutes of the game. All 11 also either recorded a point or a rebound in the game. Even with the different combinations on the floor, Auburn held itself to only ten turnovers while picking up 12 steals that added to FIU's 22 turnovers.
"I was really pleased about our turnovers and I thought we played some really good defense at times, except on Bosilj, she just had a career night and is a fantastic shooter," said Fortner. "As far as putting the pressure on them, we did a good job by holding them to 52 points, but we needed a better offensive output."
Smalley was the only Tiger to finish in double figures, but Whitney Boddie and Jordan Greenleaf were right behind Bonner with eight points each. Boddie also posted a team-best seven assists in the win.
Monika Bosilj led FIU in the game, shooting a blazing 70.6 percent from the field, including 66.7 percent from three-point land, while scoring a game-high 32 points. Michelle Gonzalez was second on the team with six points, but tallied nine assists in the loss.
Auburn held a 14-point lead at the half, on the back of 13 points from Smalley. Six of her points came from three-pointers as she was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Bonner led the Tigers in rebounding with six.
Boslij carried the Golden Panthers in the first half, scoring 14 of their 20 points. Elisa Carey added seven rebounds for FIU.
The Tigers opened the second half with a 15-4 run, building its lead to 25 points. AU still led by as many as 20 with six minutes left in the game, but Bosilj capped off an 11-2 Golden Panther run with a three-pointer at the 1:47 mark to cut the lead to 11.
Auburn retained possession of the ball for the remainder of the game to pick up the win and the tournament title.
The Tigers return to action at 6 p.m., Wednesday for just their third home game of the season. AU will take on North Carolina A&T at the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. The Aggies are 3-2 on the season, coming off a 72-53 win over East Carolina on Saturday.