Jan. 9, 2011
NASHVILLE - Auburn (9-7, 2-1 SEC) battled from behind to tie Vanderbilt (11-5, 2-1 SEC), 33-33, early in the second half, but a 17-4 Commodore run stifled a Tiger comeback as Vanderbilt went on to take the 67-59 victory Sunday in Southeastern Conference women's basketball action.
Sophomore Blanche Alverson led Auburn with 12 points, including six-straight to tie the game in the first five minutes of the second half. Senior Alli Smalley followed with 10 while freshman Peyton Davis led the Tigers in rebounding with seven boards along with her six points.
"We had a tough run there in the second half, Vanderbilt went on a 17-4 run and that pretty much sunk us at that point," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner. "We fought back and battled back hard, but seven turnovers during that run sealed our fate."
Vanderbilt took an early 10-2 lead in the game, but Auburn bounced back and trailed by just two points, 24-22, with a minute left in the first half. The Commodores didn't slow down in the final minute, scoring seven points on a Gabby Smith 3-pointer and a Hannah Tuomi jumper to take a 29-22 lead into the lockerroom.
Down seven to start the second half, it was Alverson that led the Auburn charge as she scored six points in an 11-4 Tiger run that tied the game at 33-33. Vanderbilt came back, though, with a 17-4 run that made use of six Tiger turnovers to build its lead to 13 at 50-37.
Vanderbilt would go on to lead by as many as 17 points before Auburn mounted its final push. After the Commodores took a 57-40, Auburn answered by out-scoring VU 22-17 in the final 9:07, cutting the lead to as few as five points with a minute left in the game.
"I was proud of how we fought," said Fortner. "We have a relatively young team and had young kids on the floor today, but I thought they fought hard and shot the ball better in the second half, but just did not have enough left to pull it out."
Tuomi led Vanderbilt with 22 points, followed by Jence Rhoads with 16 and Stephanie Holzer with nine. Holzer and Rhoads also led the Commodores in rebounding with a game-highs of eight.
Vanderbilt shot 52.0 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range, connecting on 3-of-9 treys. The Tigers and Commodores tied in rebounding, 36-36.
Auburn shot 36.5 percent in the game, but was 14-of-28 from the field in the second half. The Tigers were also 3-of-14 from 3-point range and 10-of-13 from the free throw line. Auburn stayed in the game with its defense, collecting 11 steals while scoring 20 points off VU's 20 turnovers. Smalley led the Tigers with three steals.
The Tigers will return to action at 6 p.m., Thursday for the beginning of a two-game homestand with Ole Miss. Auburn will continue the homestand with a 2 p.m., Sunday game against LSU that will air live on CSS.
Follow Auburn women's basketball on Twitter at twitter.com/AuburnWBB.