Dec. 17, 2014
Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
 | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn's women's basketball team got 38 points from its bench and held off a late Savannah State rally to pick up a 62-56 victory Wednesday night at Auburn Arena, the Tigers' 11th-straight home win.
The Tigers (7-2), who led by as much as 17 with less than seven minutes to play, saw that lead evaporate as Savannah State (4-4) began converting Auburn turnovers into points. A 14-1 SSU run cut the lead to as few as two points with 2:12 to play, but Auburn made five of six free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory and the home winning streak.
"As we told our players, Savannah State is a tough team, and they were going to come after us defensively," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "We started the game extremely well. I thought we did some really good things, but the turnovers allowed Savannah State to get back into the game. We have to be better at that."
With their 11th straight home victory - final four games of last season, plus seven straight to open this year - the Tigers have matched the Auburn Arena record for consecutive home wins. Auburn won 11 straight over the final two games of 2011-12 and the first nine home contests in 2012-13.
Auburn turned the ball over 22 times on the night, second-most this season, while forcing Savannah State into 21 turnovers. It was just the second time this year that Auburn had more turnovers than its opponent.
"When you are up by 17 with 6 minutes and 55 seconds to go, it shouldn't even be a close game," Williams-Flournoy said. "It should not have gotten that close at all."
Hasina Muhammad led Auburn in scoring for the first time this season, netting a season-best 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. The senior also tied for the team lead with six rebounds while picking up four assists, two blocks and a steal. Muhammad has had at least one block in eight of nine games this season.
Katie Frerking started out 3-of-3 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, and finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four steals.
Auburn led 31-19 at halftime, shooting 52 percent from the field in the opening half while holding Savannah State below 30 percent. For the game, the Tigers' bench outscored Savannah State's reserves 38-7, but SSU controlled points in the paint (34-26) and scored more off turnovers, in second-chance situations and on fast breaks than did Auburn.
Ezinne Kalu and Jazmine Norman led Savannah State with 12 points apiece.
Auburn begins a five-game road swing this weekend with a pair of contests at the St. John's Chartwells Holiday Classic in Queens, New York. The Tigers face the host Red Storm at 11 a.m. CT Saturday and will take on either Indiana State or SMU on Sunday. Both games can be seen on ESPN3.