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Feb. 14, 2009

AUBURN - In sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference, the No. 5 Auburn women's basketball team (24-1, 9-1 SEC) will take another step toward a regular season conference championship Sunday as the Tigers travel to Mississippi State(19-6, 6-4 SEC). Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m., from MSU's Humphrey Coliseum.

Auburn is coming off an 81-69 home win over Kentucky on Thursday, extending the Tigers' current winning streak to four games since a loss at Georgia on Jan. 29. Whitney Boddie tallied her team-best eighth double-double of the season in the win over the Wildcats, posting 20 points and 10 assists.

For just the second time this season, all five Auburn starters scored in double figures. The only other time that has happened was on Jan. 22 in a home win over in-state rival Alabama.

With 24 wins already this season, the most for the Tigers since the 1992-93 season, Auburn will look to pick up its 25th victory against a Mississippi State team that has won four of its last five games. Included in that stretch is a 66-61 win over then-No. 20 Vanderbilt.

"It's going to be a tough game on Sunday, it is going to be a very tough game," said Aubuen head coach Nell Fortner. "Mississippi State has a really nice post game and an excellent point guard in Alexis Rack, who's been able to play a little two guard now, so they can take advantage of her and score the ball really well right now. They are a very, very tough team."

Auburn has won four of the last five meetings against Mississippi State, but has only won once in Starkville, Miss., since 1995.

The Bulldogs were the next to last team in the SEC to lose a game this season, trailing only Auburn in that category. MSU rattled off 11 wins to open the season, but have gone 8-6 since then.

Auburn will be the fifth ranked team of the season for the Bulldogs with MSU posting a 1-3 record so far. The one win came against Vanderbilt with the three losses coming to Maryland, Florida and Tennessee.

Leading the team is junior guard Alexis Rack with her 14.3 points and 4.4 assists per game, ranking in the top five in the SEC in both categories. Rack leads the SEC in free throw shooting, knocking down 88.0 percent of her attempts, while also leading in 3-pointers made per game with 2.8.

Another conference leader on the team is junior college transfer Chanel Mokango and her SEC-best 3.3 blocks per game. She also adds 10.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Rounding out the double-digit scorers is Armelie Lumanu, tallying 11.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. The top Bulldog rebounder is senior Robin Porter with 6.6 per outing.

As a team, the Bulldogs are shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 32.2 percent from 3-point range. Mississippi State averages 70.3 points per game and average winning by 15.7 points per game. MSU tallies 10.8 steals and 6.7 blocks per game while forcing 20.5 opponent turnovers.

With MSU currently ranked fifth in the SEC, three of Auburn's final four regular-season opponents sitting in the top half of the league standings. But, Fortner said her team is focused on its goal of a regular-season conference title and knows it controls its own destiny.

"One of our goals this year was to win an SEC Championship, so in accordance with that, every game is very important at this point," said Fortner. "Our team is very focused and that's just one of the things that we want to do. We have put ourselves in the position to have the opportunity to take a really good shot at it, and at this point, we're just very focused and wanting to win each game we play."

Leading the charge is SEC Preseason Player of the Year DeWanna Bonner with her 20.8 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game. Also averaging double figure points are Alli Smalley (12.6), Sherell Hobbs (12.3) and Boddie (10.7). All four are also ranked in the top 30 in the SEC in scoring, making Auburn the only team in the leage to have four players in the top 30.

Boddie has also made a name for herself on the national level as she currently leads the NCAA in assists per game with 8.3.

Auburn is shooting a SEC-best 48.0 percent from the field, a mark that ranks third nationally. The Tigers also get it done on the defensive end with 10.4 steals and 5.5 blocks per outing. AU opponents average 19.3 turnovers per game.

This will be the 42nd meeting between Auburn and Mississippi State with Auburn holding a 29-12 series advantage. Head coach Nell Fortner owns a 3-1 record against the Bulldogs and AU holds a 10-9 all-time advantage when playing in Starkville.

Fans can also listen to the game on WMXA 96.7 in Auburn with Andy Burcham and Arnika Edwards calling the action. Live stats can be found at MStateAthletics.com.

GAME NOTES

RANKINGS
Auburn is currently ranked 5th in the NCAA Division I AP poll and 4th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. Mississippi State is receiving votes in the AP poll, but not in the Coaches poll.

QUICK HITS
Auburn is in its 38th season of women's basketball and sports an all-time record of 759-326... AU has made 17 NCAA Tournament appearances, two WNIT appearances and three Final Fours in the program's history... Head Coach Nell Fortner is in her fifth season at Auburn with a 112-65 career record and a 95-54 record on the Plains... The Tigers are coming off a 20-12 season in 2007-08 with their firs NCAA Tournament appearance since 2004.

SCOUTING AUBURN
Since picking up its first loss of the season on Jan. 29 at Georgia, Auburn has strung together a 4-0 record with wins over LSU (66-55), Ole Miss (72-65), Alabama (61-54) and Kentucky (81-69). Auburn is still off to its best start in 16 years after starting the season season 24-1 and 9-1 in the SEC. The Tigers are also 3-0 against ranked teams this season with wins over No. 17 Ohio State, No. 18 Florida and No. 10 Tennessee.

Leading the charge is SEC Preseason Player of the Year DeWanna Bonner with her 20.8 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game. Also averaging double figure points are Alli Smalley (12.6), Sherell Hobbs (12.3) and Whitney Boddie (10.7). All four are also ranked in the top 30 in the SEC in scoring, making Auburn the only team in the leage to have four players in the top 30.

Boddie has also made a name for herself on the national level as she currently leads the NCAA in assists per game with 8.3.

Auburn is shooting a SEC-best 48.0 percent from the field, a mark that ranks third nationally. The Tigers also get it done on the defensive end with 10.4 steals and 5.5 blocks per outing. AU opponents average 19.3 turnovers per game.

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
Mississippi State (19-6, 6-4 SEC) enters Sunday's game on a three-game winning streak with wins over No. 20 Vanderbilt (66-61), LSU (65-55) and in-state rival Ole Miss (66-50). The Bulldogs were the next to last team in the SEC to lose a game this season, trailing only Auburn in that category. MSU rattle off 11 wins to open the season, but have gone 8-6 since then.

Auburn will be the fifth ranked team of the season for the Bulldogs with MSU posting a 1-3 record so far. The one win came against Vanderbilt with the three losses coming to Maryland, Florida and Tennessee.

When playing at home, MSU has an 11-3 record, but a 3-2 mark in SEC play with losses to Tennessee and Arkansas.

Leading the team is junior guard Alexis Rack with her 14.3 points and 4.4 assists per game, ranking in the top five in the SEC in both categories. Rack leads the SEC in free throw shooting, knocking down 88.0 percent of her attempts, while also leading in 3-pointers made per game with 2.8.

Another conference leader on the team is junior college transfer Chanel Mokango and her SEC-best 3.3 blocks per game. She also adds 10.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Rounding out the double-digit scorers is Armelie Lumanu, tallying 11.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. The top Bulldog rebounder is senior Robin Porter with 6.6 per outing.

As a team, the Bulldogs are shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 32.2 percent from 3-point range. Mississippi State averages 70.3 points per game and average winning by 15.7 points per game. MSU tallies 10.8 steals and 6.7 blocks per game while forcing 20.5 opponent turnovers.

AUBURN-MISSISSIPPI STATE SERIES
This will be the 42nd meeting between Auburn and Mississippi State with Auburn holding a 29-12 series advantage. Auburn has won four of the five meetings with MSU, including the last meeting in Starkville in 2007. Head coach Nell Fortner owns a 3-1 record against the Bulldogs. AU holds a 10-9 all-time advantage when playing in Starkville, but MSU has won six of the last seven, dating back to 1996.

LAST TIME VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE
Auburn was unstoppable in the second half, scoring 33 points to cruise past Mississippi State, 68-42 in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 3, 2008. Cassie Moore scored a career-best 17 points, and led the team in scoring for the first.

Auburn led 35-22 at halftime thanks to six points by Moore off the bench and the six more from Sherell Hobbs. DeWanna Bonner was perfect from the free throw line, going 5-for-5 and ended the half with nine points and six rebounds.

Bonner earned her ninth double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds. She also made 7-of-7 free throws, marking the seventh time this season she has been perfect from the line. Hobbs finished with 12 points, marking the ninth straight game and 37th time in her career she has been in double figures.

Mississippi State had three players scoring in double figures led by Marneshia Richard's 12 points. Alabama native Robin Porter added 10 as did Mary Kathryn Govero, eight of which came in the final three minutes of regulation. Tysheka Grimes grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Lady Bulldogs defense.

Nell Fortner VS. SHARON FANNING
This will be the fifth meeting between Nell Fortner and Mississippi State's Sharon Fanning with Fortner holding the 3-1 advantage. Fortner is in her fifth season at Auburn and sixth overall as a collegiate head coach, holding a 112-65 career record. Fanning is in her 14th season at MSU, but her 33rd overall as a collegiate head coach and owns a 552-408 record.

LAST TIME OUT FOR MISSISSIPPI STATE
Mississippi State turned real defensive Thursday night, totally shutting down in-state rival Ole Miss, 66-50, in a Southeastern Conference women's basketball game at Tad Smith Coliseum.

MSU won a conference road game for the third time this season. The Lady Bulldogs improved to 19-6 overall and 6-4 in league play. MSU moved into sole possession of fifth place in the overall conference standings. The Lady Rebels fell to 15-10 and 4-6.

The victory was only MSU's seventh all-time in Tad Smith Coliseum and the margin of victory was the second largest ever in this building. The Lady Bulldogs complete a season sweep of their in-state rivals for the first time since back-to-back season sweeps in both 2002 and 2003.

For the contest, the Lady Bulldogs hit 30 of 69 shots from the field (43.5 percent), 5 of 27 shots from 3-point range (18.5 percent) and 1 of 7 shots from the foul line (14.3 percent).

Alexis Rack paced MSU with 21 points. Mary Kathryn Govero was also in double figures with 10 points. Robin Porter had a season-high 14 rebounds. Armelie Lumanu had a team-high seven assists. Both Porter and Lumanu had four steals.

LAST TIME OUT FOR AUBURN
The No. 5 Auburn women's basketball team rode a 23-point lead in the first half to an 81-69 victory over conference foe Kentucky Feb. 12 at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Auburn's first-half lead proved to be a necessity in the second period of play as Kentucky surged to within six points of the lead, but the Tigers held strong. Leading the Tigers was senior Whitney Boddie who tallied 20 points, one shy of her career-high, and 10 assists as she posted her eighth of the season and second straight double-double.

Joining Boddie in double figures were the other four Auburn starters, marking just the second time this season for all five starters to finish in double figures. DeWanna Bonner collected 17 points during the game and also pulled down nine rebounds, which places her fifth all-time at Auburn in career rebounding.

Also finishing with double digits was Sherell Hobbs with her 15 points and three rebounds, Alli Smalley with 11 points and seven rebounds, and Trevesha Jackson, who scored 10 and grabbed another six boards.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Tigers against Kentucky and improved Nell Fortner's record against UK to 4-2.

Leading the Kentucky squad was Roddy with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Behind Roddy's team-leading performance were Amber Smith and Amani Franklin as they both logged 15 points and four rebounds. Victoria Dunlap rounded out the Wildcats with 13 points and four rebounds.

NEXT UP FOR THE TIGERS
Auburn remains on the road as the Tigers travel to Nashville, Tenn., to take on No. 24 Vanderbilt in Memorial Gymnasium. The game is set for 8 p.m., Thursday and will be broadcast on Fox Sports South.

THE FANNING CONNECTION
Prior to getting her first full-time coaching position at Purdue, Auburn assistant coach Kerry Cremeans got her start in coaching at Kentucky as a graduate assistant from 1994-96 under current Mississippi State head coach Sharon Fanning.

Fanning was head coach during Cremeans' first season at UK, leaving after that season to take the position at MSU.

DOUBLE DOWN
During Auburn's 81-69 win over Kentucky on Feb. 12, all five Tiger starters finished the game in double figures: Boddie (20), Bonner (17), Hobbs (15), Smalley (11) and Jackson (10). It marked just the second time this season for all five Auburn starters to finish a game in double figures. The last time was on Jan. 22 in AU's 84-66 win over in-state rival Alabama.

DeWanna Bonner NAMED WBCA NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Auburn senior guard DeWanna Bonner has been named the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division I National Player of the Month for January. This is her first WBCA Player of the Month honor, as well as the first one ever for an Auburn player.

Bonner averaged 25.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 1.4 blocks and assists in seven games in January, while averaging 34.9 minutes a game. She shot 53.2 percent from the field, which included a career-best 35-point effort in Auburn's first win over Tennessee since 1997.

In January, Bonner led the Tigers to their first SEC-opening win in eight years, posting 29 points and six rebounds at South Carolina. She picked up her fifth double-double of the season and 36th of her career against then-No. 18 Florida with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Also against the Gators, Bonner tallied her 900th career rebound, becoming just the fourth Auburn player to ever register 900 career rebounds and 1,500 career points. Bonner was named SEC Player of the Week twice in January - weeks of Jan. 5 and Jan. 19.

HOMEGROWN TALENT
Relying on the state of Alabama for its strength, Auburn is the only team in the AP top-25 whose entire starting lineup comes from its home state. The Tigers normally start Whitney Boddie (Florence, Ala.), DeWanna Bonner (Fairfield, Ala.), Sherell Hobbs (Huntsville, Ala.), Trevesha Jackson (Auburn, Ala.) and Alli Smalley (Arab, Ala.).

AUBURN VS. THE SEC
Auburn is 171-138 all-time in Southeastern Conference Games. Head coach Nell Fortner holds a 33-34 record in the conference.

AN OLYMPIC RING TO IT
Auburn's game against LSU marked the fifth time this season that Auburn head coach Nell Fortner, who was head coach of the U.S. National Team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, faced another Olympic coach. LSU head coach Van Chancellor served as the U.S. head coach at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Others Auburn have faced this season include Tennessee's Pat Summitt (1984 Head Coach, 1980 Assistant Coach), North Carolina State's Kay Yow (1988 Head Coach, 1984 Assistant Coach), South Carolina's Dawn Staley (2008 Assistant Coach) and Ohio State's Jim Foster (1992 Assistant Coach).

Fortner went a perfect 5-0 against Olympic coaches this season.

SERVING 500
Auburn senior point guard Whitney Boddie tallied the 500th assist of her career on Feb. 1 as she hit Trevesha Jackson for a jumper barely more than a minute into the game.

She became the sixth Auburn player ever to reach 500 career assists, joining Renae Halbrooks (78-82), Helene Baroody (83-87), Kristen Mulligan (92-96), Ruthie Bolton (85-89) and Martha Monk (79-81). Even more impressive is that Boddie accomplished the feat after missing more than half of her junior season.

With her now 541 career assists and 839 career points, Boddie is responsible for no fewer than 1,921 points scored during her time at Auburn.

COMEBACK KID
When Auburn's hot-shooting sophomore guard Alli Smalley has an "off night," you can guarantee it is something that will not last for long.

Twice this season after a cold shooting night, Smalley has returned to the court to torch the next team she faced. It first happened when Smalley went 0-for-6 from the field, including 0-for-5 from 3-point range against George Washington. She returned in the next game to rack up 20 points, including perfect 4-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc against Coppin State.

It happened again against Georgia as Smalley tallied only two points on 1-of-7 shooting, 0-for-6 in 3-point attempts, against the Bulldogs. She redeemed herself the next time out as she went 7-of-11 from the field, including another perfect 3-point performance as she went 5-for-5, for a team-high 21 points. In 25 games this season, Smalley has failed to hit a 3-pointer only four times.

HANGING IN THE RAFTERS
Auburn sophomore Alli Smalley had her high school jersey retired at a ceremony at Arab (Ala.) High School on Friday, Jan. 16. Smalley, who wore No. 5 in high school, finished her career as the school's all-time leading scorer and is the first basktball player, male or female, to have their jersey retired. The ceremoney took place between the Arab vs. Ft. Payne girls' and boy's games.

IN GOOD COMPANY
Auburn senior DeWanna Bonner is currently ranked 11th in the nation in scoring with 20.8 points per game and 77th in the country in rebounding with 8.6 boards per game.

She is currently one of only seven players in the nation to be ranked in the top 25 in scoring and top 100 in rebounding. The others are: Alysha Clark (MTSU), Angel McCoughtry (Louisville), Ashley Nicole Hayes (Murray State), Jantel Lavender (Ohio State), Rachele Fitz (Marist) and Maya Moore (Connecticut).

NATIONAL LEADER
The other half of the "Killer Bs" combo is senior point guard Whitney Boddie. She currently leads the nation in assists per game with 8.3.

Boddie is the first Tiger to lead a national statistical category this season after leading the SEC for most of the year. She currently averages 8.3 assists per game, up from 8.0 last week. Her back-to-back games of 11 assists against Ole Miss and 12 assists at Alabama propelled her into the top spot, passing Kansas State's Shalee Lehning (8.0 apg).

Boddie owns eight of the top-24 single-game assist performances all-time at Auburn. She has posted double-digit assists in nine games this season.

ONE OF THE BEST
With a 24-1 record, the Auburn women's basketball team is off to one of the best starts in team history. The Tigers opened the season with 20 consecutive wins, the second-best undefeated run over for Auburn to open a season - finishing behind a 28-0 start by the 1988-89 Tigers.

The 24-1 record is tied for fourth al-time at Auburn, tying with the 1992-93 team that also started off 24-1.

AU was one of the last two undefeated teams left in the country, along with Connecticut, who is still undefeated. Auburn was the last undefeated team in the Southeastern Conference this season.

QUICK START IN THE SEC
The Tigers are off to a 9-1 start in SEC play this season, one of their best starts ever in league play. Auburn has gone 9-1 on only three other occasions in the team's history with the last coming in a 9-1 start to the 1992-93 season.

This is the best start in SEC play for Auburn head coach Nell Fortner in her five-year tenure on the Plains.

VICTORY IS SPELLED B-O-D-D-I-E
In the past two seasons, when senior point guard Whitney Boddie is in the lineup, the Auburn women's basketball team boasts a 34-2 record. Auburn was 10-1 in the 2007-08 season when Boddie had to sit out because of academic issues and the Tigers are 24-1 so far this season.

COME ON IN
In Auburn's 82-68 win over No. 10 Tennessee, 12,067 fans came out to see the game - shattering the attendance record for a women's basketball game at the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. It also set a new record for attendance at any event in the current seating configuration at BEMC.

The record is also not limited to Auburn as it is the largest crowd to ever see a women's college basketball game in the state of Alabama. The crowd continued a trend this season as the Tigers have had three crowds (including the Florida and Alabama games) that rank in the top-25 all-time at Auburn.

THE PLAINS 100
With 24 wins so far this season, head coach Nell Fortner is within striking distance of reaching another 100 plateau - her 100th win as Auburn's head coach. She currently has a 95-54 record on the Plains. With four regular-season games remaining on the schedule, Fortner could reach the mark in the first round of the SEC Tournament, if the Tigers manage to win out.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS NO. 100
Auburn head coach Nell Fortner got a nice gift before the team broke for the Holidays. AU's 74-46 win at Coppin State on Dec. 21 was the 100th of her six-season career as a collegiate head coach. Five of Fortner's six seasons have come at Auburn with 17 of the wins coming from her one-year stint at Purdue.

She was recognized for reaching the mark prior to Auburn's Jan. 11 game against Florida.

SMALLEY FOR THREE
With 58 three-pointers made this season, sophomore guard Alli Smalley is creeping toward the Auburn record for single-season 3-pointers, set by Tiffany Krantz in 1997 with 70.

With 12 treys needed to tie the record, Smalley would have to average 3.0 three-pointers per game in the remaining four regular season games to tie it.

CHASING THE RECORD
Auburn senior DeWanna Bonner is within reach of Auburn's all-time scoring record and could hit the mark during the regular season. Currently holding 1,967 career points, Bonner is chasing down Becky Jackson (1980-84) and her 2,068 career points. Needing 101 points to tie Jackson, Bonner would need to average 25.25 points per game in the remaining four games on the schedule.

Making postseason play would make the feat easier as the average drops almost an entire point per game for each SEC or NCAA Tournament game the Tigers play.

BUILDING A BUFFER
Against George Washington on Dec. 19, senior DeWanna Bonner overtook the Auburn career free throw record, passing Carolyn Jones and her 438 made free throws. Since then, Bonner has only distanced herself from the rest of the pack as she holds 538 career free throws, exactly a 100 more than Jones.

ON THIS DATE. . .
When playing on Feb. 15, Auburn has a 4-3 all-time record while Nell Fortner has a 0-1 record as Auburn's head coach. The last time the Tigers played on Feb. 15, was in 2007 with a 70-61 loss at South Carolina.

IN THE RANKINGS
The Auburn women's basketball team is in its 14th week of the season ranked in both the AP Top-25 poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top-25 poll.

The Tigers are currently ranked fifth in the AP poll and fourth in the coaches poll. AU has been ranked fifth in the AP poll a total of 12 weeks since 1980 with the last coming on Jan. 26, 2009.

AU is currently ranked fourth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. It has been ranked fourth in the Coaches poll a total of 13 weeks since 1984 with the last coming on Jan. 27, 2009.

PICKING UP SOME CHARITY
While she struggled from the field in Auburn's 79-56 win over Stephen F. Austin, hitting only 4-of-12 shot attempts, senior Sherell Hobbs made good when she stepped up to the free-throw line, setting two Auburn records in the process.

Hitting all 11 of her attempts in the game, Hobbs tied Con Sparrow (1998) and Lori Nero (2000) for the Auburn record in free-throw percentage. All three went a perfect 11-of-11, Sparrow hitting the mark on Jan. 17, 1998 vs. Georgia while Nero did it on March 17, 2000 vs. Southwest Missouri State. Hobbs' mark also set a new Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum record, breaking the mark of 9-of-9 set by Renae Halbrooks on Dec. 2, 1981 vs. Troy State.

ROAD WARRIORS
Auburn barely saw its home court during the non-conference season, playing 10 of its 15 games either on the road or at neutral tournament sites.

NATIONAL LEADERS
Three Tigers are currently ranked in the top-25 in the nation in a statistical category. Senior point guard Whitney Boddie is at the top of the list as she is ranked first in the nation in assists per game with 8.3. She also has one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the country, ranking third at 2.7. SEC Preseason Player of the Year DeWanna Bonner is also in the rankings, coming in at 11th in the nation in scoring with 20.8 points per game. Sophomore guard Alli Smalley is one of the top 3-point shooters in the country, ranking eighth with a .450 three-point shooting percentage.

As a team, Auburn is ranked in the top 25 in the nation in nine categories. The Tigers are sixth in scoring (78.8), third in field goal percentage (48.0), seventh in scoring margin (+18.0), 23rd in turnovers (14.8), 13th in personal fouls per game (13.9), 19th in assists per game (16.2), 16th in blocked shots per game (5.5), 25th in rebound margin (+6.6) and ninth in assist-to-turnover ration (1.1).

GETTING THEIR SECOND WIND
One of the areas Auburn head coach Nell Fortner stressed in the off-season was conditioning and being able to out-last teams down the stretch. It has paid off as Auburn has dominated teams in the second half, averaging 9.0 points per game more in the second half.

On seven occasions, the Tigers have turned a narrow or non-existant halftime lead into a double-digit win. Against Temple, AU was up by three at the break, but eneded with a 19-point victory. A halftime tie at UAB resulted in a 29-point Tiger win and a three-point advantage over North Carolina A&T at the half resulted in a 21-point victory.

Auburn took a one-point halftime deficit at Liberty and turned it into an 11-point win. At Miami, the Tigers took a two-point halftime deficit and turned it into a 15-point win. Against Alabama, Auburn bounced back after leading by just three at halftime and pulled out an 18-point victory.

Most recently, Auburn came out after trailing by five at LSU to shoot 63 percent in the second half and take away an 11 point, 66-55 victory in Baton Rouge. In all, Auburn has scored 1,013 second-half points, compared to 789 from its opponents.

BREAKING INTO THE TOP-10
After breaking into the top-10 in the Dec. 15/16 polls, the Auburn women's basketball team entered an area it had not been in for quite a while. The last time Auburn was ranked in the top 10 was Dec. 18, 2000 when the Tigers earned a No. 9 ranking with a 10-0 record.

BREAKING INTO THE TOP-FIVE
After breaking into the top-5 in the Jan. 26 poll, the Auburn women's basketball team advanced to a place only one other Tiger team had this decade. The last time Auburn was ranked in the top five was Jan. 5, 2000 when the Tigers earned a No. 5 ranking with an 11-1 record.

TRIPLE IT
Senior point guard Whitney Boddie picked up the first triple-double of her career during the Dec. 5, 119-54 win over Sam Houston State. She posted 13 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in the game.

She became just the second Auburn player ever, on either the men's or women's teams, to earn a triple double. The only other player to ever reach the feat was Marita Payne on Feb. 3, 2005 vs. Arkansas with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 13 blocks.

HITTING 100
Auburn broke the 100-point barrier for the first time under head coach Nell Fortner in the team's 119-54 win over Sam Houston State. The last time AU broke 100 points was on Dec. 30, 2003 with a 103-52 win against Northwestern State.

IN FEBRUARY
Auburn is 142-78 all-time in the month of February, including a 18-17 mark under Nell Fortner (records begin in 1978-79 season, not all dates provided prior to or during that season).

OFFENSE WINS GAMES
Auburn is 67-1 when scoring 70 or more points in the Nell Fortner era. The only time Auburn has lost when scoring at least 70 points was on Jan. 20, 2005 vs. No. 7 Tennessee, 71-81. When scoring less than 70 points, Auburn is 28-53 during the Fortner era.

CONFERENCE LEADERS
Three Tigers are currently leading the SEC in a statistical category this season. Senior DeWanna Bonner leads the conference in scoring with 20.8 points per game, leading Florida's Sha Brooks and her 16.0 points. Fellow senior Whitney Boddie leads the SEC in assists with 8.3 per game, leading Ole Miss' Shantell Black (5.6) by nearly three assists per game.

Sophomore guard Alli Smalley currently leads the conference in 3-point shooting, knocking down 45.0 percent of her attempts.

LAST OF THE UNBEATEN
Auburn's amazing 20-0 start to the 2008-09 season put it in exclusive company as one of the last two undefeated teams left in the country. Connecticut, who was the other team, is now the lone undefeated team.

The undefeaed run for Auburn ended Jan. 29 at Georgia. The Tigers were the last team to hold an undefeated conference record after Vanderbilt's loss to Georgia on Jan. 22.

DANGEROUS TANDEM
After tallying the 1,000th point of her career at Georgia Southern, Sherell Hobbs joined fellow senior DeWanna Bonner on the list of 24 Auburn players that have reached the plateau.

It marks the sixth time ever for two 1,000-point scorers to be in the same class. The others are Debra Larkin & Brenda Hill (Class of 1985), Mae Ola Bolton & Sharon Stewart (Class of 1988), Vickie Orr & Ruthie Bolton (Class of 1989), Monique Morehouse & Samantha Williams (Class of 1996) and Conswella Sparrow & Tiffany Krantz (Class of 2000).

TIGER THEIFS
Auburn's fast-paced offensive does not just result in more points, but overflows onto the defensive end as the Tigers have averaged 10.4 steals per game in their 25 games this season, forcing 19.3 opponent turnovers per outing. AU has had double-digit steals in 13 of its 25 games.

Three current Tigers are also ranked among the most prolific theifs all-time at Auburn. Sherell Hobbs ranks sixth with 225 career steals while DeWanna Bonner is eighth with 198. Whitney Boddie moved into the top-10 list at LSU, picking up one steal to tie for 10th all-time with 170. She now holds sole posession of 10th with 173 steals.

EVERYONE PLAYS
Auburn's 24-1 start has been a team effort with nine of the 10 active players averaging more than 10 minutes played per game.

AN EARLY FAVORITE
According to RealTimeRPI.com, the Auburn women's basketball team currently ranks seventh in the country in the Ratings Percentage Index that factors in strength of schedule and other factors into a computer ranking.

As a conference, the SEC is ranked fourth on RealTimeRPI.com with the Big 12, ACC and Big East ahead of it.

LOOKING AHEAD. . . BRACKETOLOGY
Fresh off the team's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2004 last season, the nationally-ranked Auburn Tigers are currently picked by ESPN's Charlie Creme to be a No. 1 seed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament in his Feb. 10 version of Bracketology.

In the season-opening, Nov. 7, version of Bracketology, Auburn was picked as a No. 7 seed and in the Dec. 23 version, the Tigers were predicted as a No. 3 seed. Auburn was twice selected as a No. 2 seed in the Jan. 20 and Feb. 3 Bracketologies.

Creme has the Tigers projected to play 16-seed Murray State in East Lansing, Mich. The winner would take on the winner of (8) Michigan State-(9) TCU, according to his prognostication. Auburn is one of five SEC teams he has predicted for the tournament, including Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida and Mississippi State. Creme also picks Auburn to win the SEC's automatic bid to the tournament as the conference champion.

WALKING TALL
Fans this season will notice a large lineup for the Tigers - one that has an average height of 72.00 inches (or approximately 6-0). With 11 players on the roster, six are 6-0 and above. The tallest player on the team, KeKe Carrier, is also the tallest player in the SEC at 6-7.

SWEET HOME ALABAMA
The 2008-09 roster includes six members who call the state of Alabama home. Whitney Boddie (Florence), DeWanna Bonner (Fairfield), Reneisha Hobbs (Huntsville), Sherell Hobbs (Huntsville), Trevehsa Jackson (Auburn) and Alli Smalley (Arab) all hail from Alabama.

SISTER ACT
Once again this season, the Tigers roster boasts a pair of sisters in sophomore Reneisha Hobbs and senior Sherell Hobbs of Huntsville, Ala. Prior to last season, the last time an Auburn team featured sisters was 1988-89 when Mae Ola and Ruthie Bolton played together.

In Auburn's 91-62 win at UAB, Sherell and Reneisha not only played together in the game, but it marked the first time in their collegiate career that they both started in the game.

GREENLEAF SIDELINED FOR REST OF SEASON
Auburn junior Jordan Greenleaf suffered an injury to her ACL during practice on Dec. 4, 2008 and will miss the rest of the 2008-09 season. Greenleaf is expected to be able to redshirt this season.

HONORING KAY YOW
With the passing of legendary North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow on Jan. 24, the Auburn women's basketball team honored her by wearing "KAY YOW" shooting shirts prior to its game with Tennessee on Jan. 25 and again at Georgia on Jan. 29. The Auburn staff also wore pink ribbons.

Yow was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and died from the disease on Jan. 24, 2009. She posted a 737-344 career record and had coached the Wolfpack through most of the 2008-09 season. One of her last five games at N.C. State's head coach was against Auburn on Nov. 29. The Tigers won the game, 67-51.

REMEMBERING VIRGIL
In honor of former Senior Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Support Services Virgil Starks, who passed away Nov. 8, members of the Auburn women's basketball team will wear "VS" graduation cap logos on their jerseys.

Starks, a Hartselle, Ala., native, is survived by his wife, Donna, and three daughters, Carolyn, Victoria and Anastasia.

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