Dec. 5, 2009
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 
AUBURN - The Auburn women's basketball team (6-3) earned a 62-43 win over non-conference rival George Washington (2-5) Saturday afternoon at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers were led by junior Alli Smalley, who collected 19 points, and Parrisha Simmons, who brought down a career-high 12 rebounds.
With the victory, Auburn earned its third consecutive win, the longest streak of the season thus far, while George Washington took its fifth straight loss.
"I like how we came out and I thought that we attacked their zone defense very well," Auburn head coach Nell Fortner stated. "KeKe Carrier was really unstoppable in there for a long time. I was also very pleased with how Alli ran the team today, she was outstanding."
Smalley finished the game with nine rebounds and six assists, tying career-highs for the Arab, Ala. native. She also collected a season-high three steals in the game.
"Alli was outstanding, she was just a warrior today," Fortner noted. "She played 39 minutes and she contributed on both ends of the floor. She had to score and her defense was also very good. She was tough today, but I expect that because she's a heck of a player."
For the second game in a row, Smalley was left to play point guard for the Tigers as freshman Morgan Toles sat with an injury.
"It's definitely hard to fill that void," Smalley said of playing without Toles. "We have lost our starting point guard Morgan Toles for a little while, but we are looking forward to her coming back. I think as a team we have to step up. We are shorthanded, we only have eight players. Everyone just had to step up today."
The Tigers took control of the game early, with Carrier putting the team on the scoreboard 12 seconds into the first half. Auburn held the lead for the remainder of the half, extending the lead to 17 with the Tigers on top, 31-14.
Smalley led the team with 13 points at halftime and was second in rebounds with five. Simmons held eight boards at halfway point, leading the team. Auburn's defense stepped up, taking 20 rebounds in the first half. The Colonials struggled from the field, however, shooting only 4-for-24 during the opening period.
At the start of the second half, the Tigers built their lead to 23 by the 18-minute mark. But, George Washington responded with a 13-0 run to cut the lead to 10 with 12:22 remaining.
Freshman Blanche Alverson stepped up for Auburn, pulling the Tigers out of the slump by gathering nine second-half points, including five points within a 90 second stretch to build Auburn's lead back to 15.
Alverson finished the game with 14 points, setting a career-high for the Andalusia, Ala. native. She also totaled four rebounds, all of which came in the second half.
Auburn re-gained control of the game, building its lead back to 21 with 1:31 remaining as the Tigers held on for the 19-point, 62-43, victory. The win is Auburn's first over the Colonials at home and narrows the GW series lead to 3-2.
For the game, the Tigers went 25-for-55 from the field, including 4-for-13 from behind the arc.
The Colonials were led in scoring by Tiana Myers, who tallied 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Shi-Heria Shipp and Megan Nipe followed with 10 points each in the loss. Brooke Wilson led the team with eight rebounds.
George Washington entered the game as the youngest team in the nation by experience, totaling only six years of NCAA Division I experience on the roster. With such a young team, GW head coach Mike Bozeman said some growing pains are expected.
"I think that part of our growing pains are understanding the importance playing both halves like we have the ability to," Bozeman said. "We can appreciate the effort given in the second half. It was such a lopsided game with the effort given in the first half; we didn't show up until the second half."
With fall semester classes at Auburn ending Monday, the Tigers will take a 10-day break for final exams before returning to action at 6 p.m., Dec. 15 at home against defending Big South champion Liberty.
"We are going to have a lot of practice," Fortner said. "Individually, these young players need a lot of reps. We have played so many games in such a short period of time that it really cut into our practice time. We need this next week to really get a lot of good offensive and defensive reps."