Nov. 18, 2010
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AUBURN - After trailing by as many as 16 points, Auburn was able to cut sixth-ranked Duke's lead to seven in the final minute, but it was not enough as the Blue Devils (3-0) pulled out the 75-62 win over the Tigers (1-2) Thursday night at Auburn Arena.
Senior Alli Smalley and sophomore Morgan Toles led the Tigers in the loss, scoring 12 points each. Sophomore Blanche Alverson scored nine points with a team-high seven rebounds.
"I think we learned a lot tonight though," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner. "The season is early and we have to continue to learn against teams of this caliber. There were too many turnovers and not enough knocking down free throws to help keep your confidence in the game. I was really pleased with the effort. I thought we played hard but we are just going to have to keep getting better."
Fueled by Student Appreciation Night, a student-heavy crowd of 3,188 came out to support the Tigers - Auburn's largest crowd yet in its new home facility.
"I thought the student's attendance was awesome," said Fortner. "I was just so pleased, I really was and hopefully they'll come back. Hopefully they'll realize it is still early in the season and we are going to get better. They appreciate that but it was great seeing them out there, no question."
The Tigers came out swinging as Smalley drained five points within the first two minutes for a five-point Auburn advantage. Duke's Jasmine Thomas countered with a five-point burst of her own to tie the game, 5-5, at 16:55.
The teams traded the lead a few more time before Duke finished off the half on a 13-4 run, turning a one-point lead with 5:12 to go into a 10-point, 39-29, lead at halftime. The Blue devils led by as many as 14 points during the run, ignited by five points from Chloe Wells.
"It was like they took a timeout and came out a different team," said Fortner. "Their pressure was really ramped up big time. It caused us to be hesitant with the ball and created some turnovers and they capitalized on it."
Auburn was able to break the Duke lead into single-digits a handful of times during the second half. The closest Auburn came to a comeback was at the 15:05 mark as Smalley connected on 3-pointer to bring the Tigers within six. However, a stingy Duke defense turned up the heat by forcing five turnovers, opening up an 8-0 run to extend its lead to 56-42.
The Tigers fought back, cutting the Duke lead to seven with 51 seconds left on the clock, but the Blue Devils were able to break the Auburn press for layups, extending their lead for the 75-62 win.
"I definitely think it is good for us," said Smalley. "Any time you can play against a top 25 team, that is going to help us because we need that experience. We need to play the best competition that we can play against to help us when we get into SEC, and also for post season play."
As a team, the Tigers were 20-of-50 from the field, 16-of-24 from the line and 6-of-17 from outside the arc. As a team, the Blue Devils were 50 percent from the field in both halves, hitting 30-of-60 on the night. Duke was 11-of-13 from the line and four-of-18 from three-point range.
"Any time you can shoot 50 percent from the floor, it shows good decision making," said Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie. "Defensively, to hold a team to 50 shots in a game and disrupt things for them, I think that is good too. I have a lot of respect for Auburn, I love Auburn, it is a great place.
Jasmine Thomas led the Blue Devils with 16 points with four others scoring in double digits. Krystal Thomas led Duke on the boards with seven.
After playing three games in the first week of the season, the Tigers will take a day off before preparing for their first road game of the season. Auburn will return to action at 6 p.m. CT, Monday for a game at South Florida in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls are 2-1 on the season after defeating Stetson 80-42 on Wednesday.
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