Nov. 26, 2010
FREEPORT, Bahamas - The Auburn women's basketball team (1-4) struggled from the field Friday, shooting 31.3 percent as the Tigers fell to Sacred Heart (2-2), 65-53, in the first game of the 2010 Junkanoo Jam in Freeport, Bahamas.
Senior Alli Smalley led the Tigers in scoring with 12 points while freshman Tyrese Tanner came off the bench for 10 points and three steals. Jordan Greenleaf pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
"We are having a hard time finding the basket, our shots just aren't falling right now," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner. "We have to find a way to score the ball and we have to figure something out."
All 12 active Tigers played in the game with the coaching staff utilizing several different lineups.
"We were trying to find something that would click for us with some different lineups, but nothing seemed to work," said Fortner. "I thought the real spark for us was Tyrese Tanner in the second half, she did a tremendous job of helping us in the press and getting some looks."
After playing only six minutes in the first half, Tanner came off the bench and played 15 of the 20 minutes in the second half, scoring all 10 of her points in the period. She was also big in the Auburn press, forcing three turnovers late in the game.
After taking a 38-18 lead at halftime, Sacred Heart came out on fire in the second half, extending its lead to 32 with 9:27 left thanks 23-11 run to open the half. Auburn responded by turning on its defense in the last nine minutes, forcing 12 turnovers while holding the Pioneers to only four points.
The run allowed Auburn to cut the Sacred Heart lead to 12, down from 32, by the end of the game, but it was cut short as the Tigers lost, 65-53.
"We have to play 40 minutes like that," said Fortner. "We can never stop fighting. I saw some good things there at the end and we have a lot of fight in us, but we have to figure some things out as a coaching staff."
For the game, Auburn forced 27 Pioneer turnovers, gathering nine steals, but the Tigers lost the rebounding battle, 42-34. Sacred Heart shot 51.1 percent for the game and 47.1 percent of its free throws.
Auburn will take on Seton Hall (3-3) at 12 p.m. CT, Saturday in the final game of the Junkanoo Jam. The game will be available in Auburn on 96.7 FM with Andy Burcham and Arnika Edwards calling the action. Fans can also listen to a live Webcast on AuburnTigers.com.
Follow Auburn women's basketball on Twitter at twitter.com/AuburnWBB.