Jan. 20, 2011
STARKVILLE, Miss. - After trailing by six points at the half, Auburn's second-half defense kept the Tigers (12-7, 5-1 SEC) in the game as they defeated Mississippi State (8-9, 0-5 SEC), 45-41, in Starkville, Miss., Thursday night. The win marked Auburn's fifth conference win of the season, tying last season's SEC total.
Alli Smalley and Blanche Alverson led the Tigers with 11 points each in the win. Jordan Greenleaf led the Auburn rebounding effort with 10.
"It just never was pretty," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner. "The one thing I can remember that was the prettiest thing was when Alli Smalley hit her 3-pointer there at the end and that was really the difference in the ballgame."
Leading by just two points with less than 30 seconds left in the game, Smalley pulled up on the right side of the floor for her lone 3-pointer of the night, giving the Tigers a 42-37 lead. Smalley then stepped up on the other end of the floor, getting a pair of rebounds in the final seconds to help Auburn secure the win.
"I put Alli and Blanche back in the game, they had some rest, and ran that 3-point play specifically because they were both rested and it worked out," said Fortner.
The Tigers struggled offensively throughout the night, especially in the first half as they went into the locker room down six, having scored just 16 points on 6-of-29 shooting from the floor.
"I was beginning to wonder if it was the rims they have or what," said Fortner. "But, we have just never really shot the ball well here. It's always been a low-scoring game here."
Auburn was helped in the first half by two 3-pointers from Alverson. The two 3-pointers moved Alverson into 10th all-time in career 3-pointers, passing Auburn career scoring leader DeWanna Bonner.
The Tigers caught a spark in the second half and relied on defense to get the job done. Auburn held Mississippi State to just two field goals in the last 7:35 of the game, both coming with less than 20 seconds left.
"I really think defense has been our bread and butter this year," said Fortner. "We have fed off of our defense and we had to do that again tonight. I thought Mississippi State had some opportunities. They missed some shots down the stretch, and I feel like we were defending them pretty well, too."
Smalley found a rhythm in the second half and was able to score 11 points for the Tigers, in addition to five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Mississippi native Chantel Hilliard also stepped up in the second half, scoring four of her seven points off the bench in the period. She also finished the game with six rebounds and a blocked shot.
"We could have very easily folded and it could have been really ugly," said Fortner. "But, we didn't do it and that's the maturity of the group. Some nights are just hard nights, some nights are a struggle, but we know that we're a better team than we showed tonight and we'll get back up tomorrow and work on that."
Transfer Catina Bett led Mississippi State with a game-high 15 points and eight rebounds. Porsha Porter scored 10 points with eight rebounds while Ashley Brown pulled down a game-high 15 boards.
Auburn held the Bulldogs to 31.1 percent shooting for the game, including a 1-of-13 mark from 3-point range. The Tigers also forced 20 MSU turnovers, turning them into 19 points on the other end.
Auburn shot 33.3 percent from the field, but was 50.0 percent (11-of-22) during the team's comeback in the second half. The Tigers won despite shooting just 8-of-15 from the free throw line and losing the rebounding battle, 46-35.
Auburn will return to action at 2 p.m., Sunday as the Tigers host sixth-ranked Tennessee (16-2, 6-0 SEC) in Auburn Arena. The Lady Vols downed South Carolina, 71-56, Thursday night. The game will air live on CSS.
Follow Auburn women's basketball on Twitter at twitter.com/AuburnWBB.