Dec. 20, 2009
MOBILE, Ala. - Senior KeKe Carrier erupted for 16 second-half points en route to finishing the day with a game-high 23 as the Auburn women's basketball team (8-3) picked up the 71-50 win at in-state rival South Alabama (5-6). The game is the final one before the Holiday break as the Tigers will return to action Dec. 28-30 at the San Diego State Surf `N Slam Tournament.
"We kept our focus for 40 minutes today and I thought we played some really good basketball," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner. "KeKe had a really good day today with some great post moves and was getting up and down the floor really well. We feed off of her a lot, so it was big to get some good minutes out of her."
Carrier led a pack of three Tigers in double figures as Alli Smalley finished with 13 points, followed by freshman Morgan Toles with 10. Sophomore Chantel Hilliard came off the bench to lead Auburn in rebounding with a career-high 11 boards.
Auburn also got it done on the defensive end, limiting South Alabama to only 18 field goals in the game, 10 of which came from beyond the arc. The Jaguars were held to 30.0 percent shooting, but knocked down 38.5 percent of their 3-point attempts.
"I thought our zone defense did a good job at slowing down their motion offense," said Fortner. "They run a good motion offense and it was great to be able to take them out of that and disrupt what they were trying to do."
Shakira Nettles led the Jaguars with 15 points, all 3-pointers. Christian Shelter added nine while Tashley Gaines added six off the bench. Cylenthia Kennon was the top rebounded for USA, pulling down seven boards.
Fortner was also excited about the crowd, nearly half of which was made up of Auburn fans, helping to take away some of the Jaguar home-court advantage.
"It was awesome, I thought we had a great crowd today," said Fortner. "It was awesome to hear them sing the fight song after the game. The team really gets excited seeing a lot of orange in blue in the stands on the road."
The Tigers dominated the glass for the second game in a row, taking a 48-26 rebound advantage over South Alabama. Six Tigers grabbed five or more rebounds with Parrisha Simmons following Hilliard with seven. Carrier, Smalley and Blanche Alverson pulled down six each.
"You have to win the rebound war every time out and I thought we had some warriors on the boards today," said Fortner. "Chantel Hilliard came in and did a really good job covering the glass. She finished with three points, but she is such a good offensive players, we really have to get her some looks while she is in."
South Alabama took a 10-6 lead early in the first half, but an 11-0 Auburn run gave the Tigers a 17-10 lead with 8:54 left to play in the period. Alverson scored five points in the run while Greenleaf connected on two jumpers in less than a minute to give Auburn the seven-point advantage and force a Jaguar timeout.
Auburn would go on to lead by as many as 14 in the half, taking a 31-17 lead after a Simmons layup with 3:19 to go. USA's Nettles hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the Tiger lead to 36-23 at halftime. Alverson came off the bench to lead Auburn in the first half with eight points while Carrier and Smalley added seven each. Nettles led South Alabama with 12 points, all 3-pointers.
South Alabama came out on a 10-4 run to open the second half, cutting the Auburn lead to seven with 16:41 left to play. Auburn responded with a 10-3 run of its own, pushing the lead back to 14.
Carrier stepped up and scored 16 of her points in the second half and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line in the game, helping extend the Tiger lead.
With Auburn ahead by only 13 with 8:45 left to play, the senior from Lake Charles, La., stepped up to score 12 straight points for the Tigers, extending the lead to 21 with 4:07 left to play.
Auburn shot 50.0 percent from the field in the game, 28-of-56, and was 30.0 percent from beyond the arc after hitting 3-of-10 attempts. The Tigers were 12-of-17 from the charity stripe in the game for 70.6 percent. Auburn also committed a season-low 13 turnovers while picking up three steals and seven blocked shots.
Auburn will take a break for the Holidays and will return to action Dec. 28-30 at the San Diego State Surf `N Slam Tournament. The Tigers will open at 9 p.m. CT, Dec. 28 against Valparaiso and will play either host San Diego State or Wake Forest Dec. 30 in the championship/consolation round.