Feb. 19, 2009
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Down 16 points at halftime, the No. 3 Auburn women's basketball team (25-2, 10-2 SEC) rallied back to cut No. 18 Vanderbilt's lead to one at 71-70 with ll.6 points remaining, but VU's Meredith Marsh hit two free throws to put the 73-70 upset victory away for the Commodores (21-6, 10-2 SEC).
After trailing for nearly the entire game, the Tigers showed some late- game magic, pulling within one point with 11 seconds left to play. Leading the late surge was Alli Smalley, who posted five points in the final 90 seconds.
The win puts Vanderbilt in a tie with Auburn for the top spot in the league. The Tigers wrap up the season at home with games against Georgia (Feb. 22) and Arkansas (March 1) while Vanderbilt finishes out on the road with games at Ole Miss (Feb. 22) and at Tennessee (March 1).
"The loss is disappointing, but it is not the end of the world," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner. "It is tough on the road, it is very tough to play on the road in this conference. Our shots were not falling in the first half, but we did some nice things in the second half. I was really proud of our effort."
Sherell Hobbs led Auburn with a game-high 19 points while sophomore Smalley added 15, including three 3-pointers.
Senior DeWanna Bonner followed in double figures with 13 points and seven rebounds, but the highlight of the night for her was scoring the 2,000th point of her Auburn career. She scored on a put-back at the 19:43 mark in the second half, scoring the 2,000th point in the process. She entered the game needing eight points to reach the mark and her 13 points leave her with 2,005.
Bonner is just third Auburn player ever to reach the plateau, joining Becky Jackson (2,068 points) and Vickie Orr (2,035 points).
Also scoring in double figures was senior Whitney Boddie with10. She co-led in rebounding with Bonner, pulling down seven boards, and led the team with eight assists.
Auburn led only once in the game, at the 2-0 mark after a Bonner 3-pointer. Vanderbilt responded with a 17-5 run and eventually led by as many as 18 points in the first half.
Hobbs led Auburn with nine points in the first half while Bonner followed with seven and four rebounds. Jence Rhoads led the charge for Vanderbilt with 12 points.
The Tigers re-gained their composure at halftime, going on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the 9:47 point in the first half. VU re-built the lead to double digits, but held it for the last time at 66-56 with 5:13 remaining as Auburn closed the game on a 14-7 run, falling short in the 73-70 loss.
"This is just one game in the season, just one game," said Fortner. "We will get better from this."
The loss was just the second for Fortner at Auburn when scoring 70 or more points. The only other loss after scoring 70 came on Jan. 20, 2005 when the Tigers lost 71-81 to Tennessee.
Rhoads led Vanderbilt with 16 points, followed by Christina Wirth and Jennifer Risper with 14 each. Wirth also led the Commodores with a game-high nine rebounds.
Vandy shot 56 percent from the field, compared to a 46.9 percent shooting night for Auburn. The teams tied in rebounding with 30 each, as well as in turnovers with 12 each.
Auburn returns to action Sunday at 2 p.m. against Georgia at the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. The game is Auburn's "Pink Zone" game presented by ALFA Insurance. For each of the first 5,000 fans in attendance, $1 will be donated to the Joy to Life Foundation.