Jan. 22, 2009
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AUBURN - Whitney Boddie put up 12 points and 12 assists to record her third consecutive double-double as the fifth-ranked Auburn Tigers (19-0, 4-0 SEC) kept their unbeaten streak alive with an 84-66 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide (12-8, 0-5 SEC) Thursday night at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Senior DeWanna Bonner led the Tigers in scoring with 24 points.
The 19-0 start is tied for the second-best ever at Auburn and the 4-0 SEC start is tied for the third-best start ever for the Tigers in conference play. The crowd of 4,326 also tied for 24th all-time in attendance for a women's game at AU's Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.
In all, five Tigers scored in double-digits on the night including senior Sherell Hobbs with 15, sophomore Alli Smalley with 13 and Trevesha Jackson with 10.
Auburn took a narrow three-point margin into the locker room at halftime after Alabama put the brakes on the Tigers' hope for a comfortable lead.
"They just came out and matched our intensity," said Boddie. "We got the win. That's all that matters but our defense really needs to step it up. When we play better teams, we can't just come out and say we are going to outscore them in the second half. We've got to put our foot down, get into a stance and get ready to lock up. That can't happen anymore."
Alabama beat Auburn on the boards 16-to-13 in the first half as the Tigers gave up an uncharacteristic 12 turnovers to the Crimson Tide. Five Alabama players combined for 5-of-9 from behind the three-point arc while both teams shot 53.1 percent from the field. Bonner led the Tigers in first half scoring with 19.
"In the first half, there were some spurts where Auburn would score," said Alabama leading scorer Varisia Raffington. "Our coaches kept telling us to fight back. We kept close in the first half. They have a lot of weapons they can go to. DeWanna Bonner killed us on the boards."
As the second half commenced, so did the Auburn offensive attack. The Tigers were lights-out after the break, shooting 17-of-23 from the field for 74 percent. Auburn out-scored the Crimson Tide 21-11 through the opening ten minutes of the second period. The Auburn lead continued to grow as the half wore on, peaking at 22 with 2:10 left on the clock. The Tigers now lead the series with Alabama, 37-32.
"I thought we found what we needed to find in their zone defense and got some shots," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner. "For this team, I'm sure Tennessee was looming in the back of their heads. Sometimes it takes a little more to get them focused and maybe the halftime score did something for them."
The Tigers finished the game shooting 61.8 percent from the field, 6-of-11 from long range and 10-of-16 from the line.
As a team, Alabama shot 45.6 percent from the field, 8-of-18 from three-point land and 6-of-7 at the line. The Crimson Tide was led by Ruffington who was 8-of-14 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range for 19 points. Forward Tierney Jenkins led the Tide on the boards, picking up eight rebounds.
Next for Auburn is a high-profile matchup with the 10th-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols looking for the 999th win of head coach Pat Summit's career.
"We match up really well with them," said Fortner on the upcoming matchup. "We'll just have to get on the floor and bang it out. It's a game where you have senior leadership and you are playing at home. There are a lot of factors that are motivating us but you still have to get out on the floor and play the game. It's a big game."
Game time is set for 2 p.m. CT, Sunday at the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Tennessee enters the game 15-3, 4-1 SEC after defeating Arkansas, 76-67, Thursday night.