Feb. 27, 2011
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AUBURN - The Auburn women's basketball team (15-14, 8-8 SEC) was unable to hold off surging No. 20/20 Kentucky (22-7, 11-5 SEC) as the Tigers fell 76-62 to close out the regular season Sunday at the Auburn Arena.
Senior Alli Smalley recorded a season-high 24 points in her final home game as a Tiger, followed by junior Morgan Jennings with a career-high 16. Junior Chantel Hilliard added 10 points while sophomore Blanche Alverson scored 10 and pulled down a team-high eight boards.
"I would have much rather have the win than the points, but we fought hard," said Smalley. "Kentucky is just a tough team. They pressured us and forced us to turn the ball over."
Auburn battled back-and-forth with the Wildcats in an opening half that saw seven ties and five lead changes. Jennings, who started in place of an injured Morgan Toles, was perfect from the field and the line in the first half. The Atlanta native racked up nine first half points and four assists.
"They had an extra post player who would linger back and trap us," said Jennings. "She was tall so you really couldn't see over her to make the extra pass. You try and attack the post and beat them off the dribble because they are usually slower than the guards doing the trapping."
A pair of Kentucky free throws tied the game at 30 with 49 seconds left in the half. A Peyton Davis steal with just seconds remaining led into a 25-foot running buzzer-beater from Smalley, igniting the crowd and sending the Tigers into the half up, 33-30.
"She's such a great kid, I can't even begin to explain what a fantastic person she is, and a competitive basketball player," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner on Smalley. "She plays with all her might and has great skills, and is a great joy to be around. I've never had one problem with her in her four years at Auburn. Not one, ever. She's Just a fantastic person."
Although the Wildcat defense amped up the pressure in the second half, they were unable to slow Smalley who scored 15 second-half points. The Arab, Ala., native was 3-of-6 from outside the arc in the second half and connected on all four free-throw attempts.
The high-pressure Kentucky defense began to take its toll on the Auburn offense as the half wore on with the Wildcats slowly pulling away from the Tigers. In all, Kentucky forced 29 Auburn turnovers, turning them into 29 points on the other end. Seven different Wildcats tallied a steal in the game.
"I thought our pressure defense was finally able to make a difference in the game and we were finally able to score off of our defense," said Kentucky head coach Matthew Mitchell. "We made an effort in the second half to get to the rim and try to finish." A Victoria Dunlap layup with 4:57 left gave Kentucky its first double-digit lead of the game. The Tigers, however, could never bring the deficit back to single-digits as the Wildcats pulled away for the 76-62 win.
Auburn finished the game shooting 22-of-55 for 40 percent and was 12-of-16 from the line. Smalley and Jennings each tied career highs, connecting on six free throws, apiece.
Dunlap led the Wildcats in scoring with 19, followed by A'dia Mathies with 13, Keyla Snowden with 11 and Maegan Conwright with 10. Dunlap also led Kentucky in boards, pulling down seven, while Mathies led the team in steals with four.
As a team, the Wildcats shot 23-of-51 from the field for 45 percent, 26-of-34 from the line and 4-of-14 from 3-point range.
With its 8-8 record in SEC play, Auburn finishes the season in a tie for fifth in the SEC and will be the No. 6 seed in next week's SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The Tigers will take on No. 11 seed Mississippi State (12-16, 4-12 SEC) at 9 p.m. CT, Thursday. The Tigers and Bulldogs split their two meetings in the regular season.
Auburn University will host the first and second rounds of the 2011 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship, March 20 and 22 at Auburn Arena. Tickets are available now at AUBTix.com.
Follow Auburn women's basketball on Twitter at twitter.com/AuburnWBB.