Nov. 17, 2014
Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
 | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
AUBURN, Ala. -- Tra'Cee Tanner's career-high 31 points led three Tigers in double-figures as Auburn defeated Grambling State 92-42 Monday night in women's basketball action at Auburn Arena.
Auburn (2-0) has now won six straight games at Auburn Arena, dating back to the last four games of the 2013-14 season.
"I thought Tra'Cee did a very good job of posting and going up strong, as she should have," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "She was the biggest post on the floor and, in fact, she was the biggest player on the floor most of the time. I thought she did a very good job of demanding the ball and posting up strong.
"I thought our guards did a good job of understanding to get the ball inside. Even (Brandy Montgomery) gave up a wide-open three, which is not very common, and threw the ball inside. So I thought we really understood the game plan to get the ball inside. Tra'Cee finished. She missed a few. She was 14-for-18, and those four she probably should have made. She's going to claim she got fouled on a few, which we won't believe, but going 14-for-18 and finishing strong inside for us was a really good thing."
Tanner scored 12 of the first 14 points for Auburn as a small Grambling lineup had no answer for the 6-3 junior. She would finish with 31, a career-high and the most for an Auburn player since Blanche Alverson scored 32 against Mississippi State on March 3, 2013.
"It was more about my teammates," Tanner said. "We've been working on getting the ball inside the paint a lot this week. That was the main focus - not only passing the ball into the post, but also penetrating to the basket for the guards and getting fouled if you have to or finishing at the basket. So it wasn't all about getting the ball into the post players, it was getting the ball in the paint."
Montgomery had a career-high seven assists along with 18 points, six rebounds and three steals. Freshman Jessica Jones hit double-digits in her second collegiate game with 11 points and six rebounds, and sophomore Khady Dieng filled the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Eleven of 12 players on Auburn's roster scored in the game.
Auburn never trailed in the game and controlled the action from the opening tip. Auburn shot 59.4 percent for the game, holding Grambling to 28.3 percent from the field. The homestanding Tigers also outrebounded the visitors 47-24, holding Grambling to just seven offensive rebounds.
A whopping 74 of Auburn's 92 points came in the paint as Auburn took full advantage of their edge in size. Auburn also forced Grambling into 25 turnovers while committing just 15 of their own. Auburn led 46-20 at halftime.
Shakierya McClendon led Grambling (0-2) with 13 points and Monisha Neal had 12.
Auburn wraps up a three-game season-opening home stand Thursday night as they play host to Florida Gulf Coast at Auburn Arena. Tip is set for 6 p.m.