March 19, 2011
TOLEDO, Ohio - The 2010-11 season came to an end Saturday afternoon for the Auburn women's basketball team as the Tigers (16-16) fell at Toledo (25-8) in the second round of the WNIT. Senior Alli Smalley, playing in her last game as a Tiger, scored 13 points to lead Auburn.
"This is a tough place to play and Toledo is a tough team, you have to give them credit," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner. "But, we will take some positives from this game. It was great to get into the postseason and we got some good experience for our young players."
Smalley was one of two Auburn players in double figures, joined by freshman Tyrese Tanner with 12. Four of Auburn's freshmen, Tanner, Camille Glymph, Courtney Strain and Jassany Williams, combined to score 30 of Auburn's 52 points.
Tanner also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds along with three steals. Morgan Jennings dished out four assists.
The Tigers struggled from the field in the loss, shooting just 31.1 percent and 14.3 percent from 3-point range.
"It just wasn't a good day for us on the defensive end or shooting the ball," said Fortner. "We got some really good looks at the basket, they just didn't drop."
Smalley finishes her four-year Auburn career with 1,611 career points, becoming one of just eight Tigers all-time to score more than 1,600 points.
"Alli has been apart of our family for so long, even back to when she was coming to our camps," said Fortner. "I am so proud of her and all that she has accomplished. I'm happy for her now that she will be moving on to bigger and better things."
Toledo jumped out in the first half, scoring the first six points of the game. Auburn came within five at 10-5 and was down just seven with 7:58 left in the first half, but the Rockets pulled away and led by as many as 14 points late in the half, holding on for a 29-18 halftime lead.
The Rockets came out of the gate in the second half much like the first, scoring the first eight points of the period and went on to lead by as many as 22 points at 43-21 with 14:34 left.
The Tigers re-grouped and cut the lead to 13 with 9:47 left, but would get no closer. Toledo again led by 21 in the final four minutes, but Auburn out-scored the Rockets 10-4 the remainder of the game for the 67-52 loss.
Yolanda Richardson scored a game-high 20 points to lead Toledo. She was followed by Melissa Goodall and Naama Shafir with 12 points each. Richardson also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.
Auburn University will host the first and second rounds of the 2011 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship, Sunday and Tuesday at Auburn Arena. Tickets are available now at AUBTix.com.
Follow Auburn women's basketball on Twitter at twitter.com/AuburnWBB.