Nov. 20, 2014
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AUBURN, Ala. -- Two drawn charges in the final minute and clutch shots from several players helped secure a 72-69 win for the Auburn women's basketball team over Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday night at Auburn Arena.
The Tigers (3-0) won their seventh-straight game at Auburn Arena, dating back to the 2013-14 season, and head into their first road trip this weekend on a high note after a hard-fought win. Auburn is 3-0 for the first time since their 2008-09 SEC Championship season when the Tigers won their first 20 contests.
"It was a very good win for our program against a very good Florida Gulf Coast team," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "They are an excellent team and shoot the three extremely well, but in the second half our team really stepped it up and kept them off of the 3-point line and picked up our defensive effort."
Tied at 66-66 with just over a minute to play, Hasina Muhammad knocked down a jumper at the one-minute mark to give the Tigers a 68-66 lead. At the other end, Katie Frerking stood tall and drew a charge, setting up a Kiani Parker 15-footer to extend Auburn's lead to four.
But the Eagles answered with a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the lead to one with 12 seconds left, then fouled immediately. Frerking hit one of two free throws to put Auburn ahead by two, then Tra'Cee Tanner drew another charge with 3.1 seconds to play. After another FGCU foul, Khady Dieng hit one of two free throws to make it a three-point game, and the Eagles' desperation heave fell short.
"I thought Tra'Cee Tanner and Katie Frerking did a great job of stepping in on defense and taking charges," Williams-Flournoy said. "Both of them think they are shot blockers, so for them to understand time and score situations, it was a better situation to stay there and take the charge. Those were huge plays."
Tanner had another big night offensively, leading the Tigers with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. She also tied for the team lead with six rebounds and was a perfect 5-of-5 at the free-throw line. Three other players scored in double figures, led by 11 points from Dieng and 10 apiece from Muhammad and Brandy Montgomery. Muhammad also blocked three shots on the night.
Auburn shot 52.7 percent from the field and saw vast improvement at the free-throw line, hitting 9-of-11 shots on the night. FGCU, which hit seven 3-pointers in the first half, was held to just 3-of-8 in the final 20 minutes from beyond the arc as Auburn got several key stops late in the game.
FGCU led by as many as seven late in the first half, but a last-second 3-pointer by Montgomery cut the Eagles' lead to 37-35 heading into the break. Stephanie Haas had 30 points to lead the Eagles.
The Tigers hit the road this weekend for another tough test as Auburn will face Virginia at 1 p.m. CT Sunday in Charlottesville, Va.