Dec. 18, 2013
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AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn women's basketball team (8-3) held Presbyterian (2-8) to 27 points Wednesday night, picking up the 64-27 win in the final game of a four-game homestand. Senior Tyrese Tanner led the Tigers with 18 points and seven rebounds.
"We're definitely happy to be 8-3, a win is a win," said Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "You look at the first half, and you're not happy with it. You look at the second half, and you see improvements. At the end of the day, you're just happy for the win because we've got some tough games ahead of us."
Following tonight's game, Auburn will go on the road for the Subway Classic in Minneapolis, Minn. The Tigers will take on UCLA (4-5) and host Minnesota (9-2) at the tournament.
Auburn utilized its defense to pick up the win as the 27 points by Presbyterian was the fewest by an Auburn opponent since the Tigers downed New Orleans 76-27 on Dec. 9, 2004. The Tigers forced the Blue Hose into 23 turnovers, scoring 29 points off turnovers. Presbyterian was limited to 20.0 percent shooting from the field and 10.0 percent from 3-point range.
Freshman Brandy Montgomery joined Tyrese Tanner in double digits, notching 11 points. Montgomery has scored in double figures in nine out of 10 games this season. Tra'Cee Tanner scored nine points with a team-high eight rebounds.
Auburn opened the game with an 11-0 run, holding Presbyterian scoreless for the first 5:06, and without a field goal the first 8:32. The Tigers would go on to lead 27-15 at the break.
The Tigers upped their intensity with a 13-0 run in the beginning of the second half. Auburn forced three consecutive 10-second backcourt violations during a stretch midway through the half. The Tigers put away the game with an 18-3 run to end the second half.
"I thought we just upped our defensive press a little bit. I really thought in the first half we were just going through the motions," said Williams-Flournoy. "I think when you play a team like Presbyterian College you sometimes think that you really don't have to play as aggressive on defense and be in the right position. You think you can just steal the ball and not really play hard. I think they found out that Presbyterian College plays pretty hard, so we had to be in the right position and play tougher on defense in the second half."
Presbyterian was led by senior Karlee Taylor with seven points and four rebounds. Aianna Kelly added six points while Keyonna Allen pulled down eight rebounds.
With her 18 points, Tyrese Tanner moved into Auburn's top-25 in career scoring. She passed Samantha Williams and now ranks 25th with 1,116 career points.
"We have some tough games ahead of us," Williams-Flournoy said. "As with most non-conference games these two are a little more of the caliber of our teams in the SEC, so I really hope this prepares us as we begin SEC play."
The Tigers will travel to Minneapolis, Minn., for the Subway Classic, Dec. 21-22. Auburn will take UCLA (4-5) at 2 p.m., Saturday and host Minnesota (9-2) at 2 p.m., Sunday.