Feb. 5, 2009
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AUBURN - The No. 6 Auburn women's basketball team rebounded from a close first half to claim a 72-65 win over conference rival Ole Miss (14-9, 3-5 SEC). The win takes the Tigers to a 22-1 overall record and 7-1 in SEC competition.
With a single-point lead going into the half, the Tigers fought through a close second half that saw three ties and six lead changes.
"They're not always pretty, but a win is a win," Auburn head coach Nell Fortner said. "We had a couple of good runs in the second half and that determined the outcome of the game. We'll take the win."
The second-half effort brought 42 points for the Tigers, after only collecting 30 points in the first half.
Auburn was led by senior DeWanna Bonner, who accounted for 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the win. Her performance marked the 11th time this season that the senior has cleared the 20-point mark. She also finished the game flawless from the free-throw line, shooting 7-for-7.
"I think we still have to come out stronger," Bonner mentioned. "We came out and had a slow start. We need to get more focused as a team right now."
Following Bonner was Alli Smalley with 15 points and Sherell Hobbs with 11 points and four rebounds. Shooting 4-for-7 from three-point range, Smalley tied Carolyn Jones for fifth in career three-pointers made at Auburn, tallying the 103rd of her career.
"I got a lot more confidence," Smalley said. "I didn't shoot too well in the Georgia game so I tried to get my shot back tonight."
Seeing plenty of action during the game, sophomore Reneisha Hobbs and freshman Chantel Hilliard combined for 31 minutes of play. Hilliard scored six points and picked up two steals as Hobbs logged five points and two steals.
"I'm very pleased with Reneisha and Chantel," Fortner said. "Their minutes were very important to us tonight. There will be a situation where they'll see some more minutes and give our starters some more rest. We're going to need their play down the stretch."
The Tigers struggled in the first half, shooting only 39.3 percent from the field. Bonner led the team with 13 points and five rebounds in the first half. Leading the Rebels in the opening period was Shawn Goff as she collected 10 points and six rebounds.
Auburn built its largest lead of five points with 10:00 to play in the first half. Ole Miss bounced back and tied the game two more times before Auburn went into the locker room with a 30-29 advantage.
Ole Miss took a quick three-point lead early in the second half, but Auburn responded with an 18-3 run to take its largest lead of the night at 12 points, 55-43, with 11:03 left to play.
The Rebels responded with a 14-2 run to tie the game with seven minutes left on the back of two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws from Bianca Thomas.
Ole Miss would tie the game one more time before Auburn finally was able to pull away in the final minutes, fueled by Whitney Boddie, who posted all eight of her points in the last five minutes of the game.
"Whitney is a potential big scorer," Fortner remarked. "When the game is on the line, she is a big time player and she will keep the ball in her hands and find a way to score and that is what she did tonight and I was glad that she did."
Thomas led all scorers in the game with 28 points, knocking down five of her nine 3-point attempts. Fortner said she was disappointed in the team's defensive approach to her.
"It was a mental breakdown," Fortner stated. "There's no way that she should've had an open look at those shots. That shouldn't happen and we have to stop allowing that."
Ole Miss shot 43.3 percent from the field (26-of-60)and 35 percent from three-point range (7-of-20). The Rebels also knocked down 75 percent of their free throw attempts, connecting on 6-of-8.
Auburn shot 44.1 percent from the field (25-of-59), including 48.4 percent in the second half. The Tigers were 4-of-9 from 3-point range with all four coming from Smalley. AU also hit 76.2 of their free throws, knocking down 16-of-21 attempts.
The Tigers will return to action at 2 p.m. on Sunday in Tuscaloosa to take on in-state rival Alabama. The Crimson Tide lost to Florida, 71-92, on Thursday and fall to 12-11 and 0-8 in SEC play.