Dec. 29, 2008
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Five Tigers finished in double figures, led by a 21-point effort from sophomore guard Alli Smalley, as the No. 9 Auburn women's basketball team (13-0) beat Duquesne (9-4), 87-67, in the first game of the Miami Holiday Tournament.
Auburn tallied 11 steals and a season-high 15 blocks, two short of the school record, while improving to 13-0 for just the fifth time in school history.
The Tigers avoided a few Duquesne comebacks, holding on each time to come away with the 20-point victory. AU scored the first nine points of the game and led 18-6 less than five minutes into the game, but the Dukes would twice cut the lead to as few as four before Auburn pulled away for a 16-point, 50-34, lead at halftime.
Auburn built its lead to 21 at the 17:25 mark in the second half, but Duquesne twice tried to battle back, cutting the lead to 14 each time before the Tigers re-built to a 23-point, 78-55, advantage with 8:32 left to play. The Dukes would get the lead under 20 points only two more times as Auburn held on for the 87-67 win.
"We are a veteran team and with a veteran team there is no panic, you just stay with it and do the things you are capable of doing and things just happen for you," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner on her team's first game since Dec. 21. "We just had to settle in and get our game legs back, get our rhythm, and when we did I thought we were fine."
Smalley led a pack of five Tigers with 21 points, her second 20-point game in a row and her fourth of the season. She is coming off a 20-point effort at Coppin State, Auburn's last game before the holiday break. Against Duquesne, Smalley was 8-of-12 from the field, knocking down 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
"That is a great thing when you get five players in double figures," said Fortner. "We pushed the ball well, we were trying to attack the basket and Whitney Boddie really opened some things up for us and allowed to do some things today. That is what she does so well, she can draw defenses and she can score and I thought she was the most dangerous person on the floor today.
Boddie also had a big night as she tallied a career-high 13 assists along with 14 points and six rebounds. Her 13 assists rank in a tie for sixth all-time at Auburn in single-game assists and are the most for a Tiger since Ruthie Bolton tallied 14 against Southern California on Dec. 11, 1988.
Following Boddie was Sherell Hobbs and DeWanna Bonner with 13 points each while KeKe Carrier came off the bench to round out the double-digit scorers with 11. Carrier added five blocks in the game while Bonner led Auburn in rebounding with 13, giving her the 35th double-double of her career and her fourth this season.
Bonner, along with freshman Chantel Hilliard, followed Carrier in blocks with three each. Continuing to get it done on the defensive end, Hilliard also tied for the team lead in steals as she, Boddie and Hobbs picked up three each.
Duquesne was led by Rachel Frederick in the game with 12 points while Samantha Pollino, Kristi Little and Alex Gensler added 11 each. Little also led the team in rebounds and assists with seven and six, respectively.
Smalley led Auburn in the first half with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including a 2-of-3 mark from behind the 3-point arc. Bonner chipped in seven points along with a team-high nine rebounds while Boddie dished out 10 first-half assists.
Gensler came off the bench to lead Duquesne in the first half with eight points while Frederick led the team in rebounding with four.
Auburn shot 54.5 percent from the field, knocking down 36-of-66 attempts. The Tigers also hit 4-of-9 3-point attempts and 11-of-15 free throws in the game. Auburn out-rebounded the Dukes, 45-33, but also had more turnovers (15-12) and fewer steals (11-12).
Duquesne relied heavily on the 3-point shot, taking 23 attempts in the game and coming away with seven for 30.4 percent. As a team, the Dukes were 26-of-72 from the field for 36.1 percent while hitting eight of their 10 free throw attempts.
Auburn returns to action Tuesday in the championship game. The Tigers will take on the host Miami at 6 p.m. CT at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Fla.
For Auburn it is the third time in a row to be in the Miami Holiday Tournament championship game. The Tigers defeated Miami, 79-71, for the title in 2006 after beating James Madison, 79-76, in overtime. In 1988, Auburn defeated Nebraska, 80-39, in the championship game after downing Syracuse, 76-52, in the opener.
In all, Auburn has played in a University of Miami-hosted tournament seven times and holds a 17-1 mark in those games, including an 8-1 mark in the Holiday Tournament.
Fans can listen to the game locally in Auburn on WMXA 96.7 FM with Andy Burcham calling the game and Arnika Edwards providing the color commentary. An audio Webcast and GameTracker will also be available at www.AuburnTigers.com.