Dec. 21, 2010
CHICAGO - Freshman Tyrese Tanner scored 13 of her team-high 15 points in the second half, leading an Auburn (5-6) rally for a 67-63 win at Chicago State (4-7).
She scored seven-straight points for the Tigers late in the game, including the 3-pointer that put Auburn up for good.
The game was the final for Auburn before the team breaks for the Holidays. It capped off an eight-day, three-game road trip for the Tigers.
"It is always great getting a road win, that's for sure," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner. "I thought we fought real hard in the second half to get back in the game. The first four minutes of the second half were big for us and we had some great bench play."
Part of that bench play was Tanner, who set a new career high with her 15 points. She was 4-of-6 from the field, including a 3-pointer, and made all six of her free-throw attempts - many coming in crucial times down the stretch.
"Tyrese played a great second half, she plays with a lot of poise and confidence for a freshman," said Fortner. "She really gives us a great spark off the bench when we really need it. I look forward to seeing a lot more of it as time goes on."
Auburn took an early 7-2 lead, but saw it slip away after a pair of Cougar 3-pointers. Chicago State would go on to lead most of the first half, capping it off with a Tressa Beckel jumper with 14 seconds remaining that gave CSU its largest lead of the game at 32-24.
The Tigers responded early in the second half, opening up with an 8-2 run to cut the Cougar lead to two. Chicago State would build its lead back up to six with 6:28 left in the game, but Tanner sparked an Auburn charge that would have the Tigers out-scoring CSU 22-12 in the final minutes.
Auburn finished the game 21-of-32 from the free throw and was 11-of-13 in the final 52 seconds of the game.
"It was good to see us win a game at the free throw line," said Fortner. "We had not been shooting the free throws very well and to win a game on the free throw line was big for us. Hopefully that will lead to a lot more confidence there."
Tanner led a pack of three Tigers scoring in double figures, followed by Morgan Toles with 14 and Blanche Alverson with 13. Jordan Greenleaf led Auburn on the boards with 12 along with her five points.
Beckel led Chicago State with a game-high 16 points, followed by Caila Desroches with 15 and Courtney Waldon with 12. Beckel also notched a double-double with her 11 rebounds.
The Chicago State game was the last for the Tigers before the Holiday break. Auburn will return to action Dec. 28 with a home game against Alabama A&M. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m., from Auburn Arena.