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Feb. 20, 2010

Auburn at Mississippi State Game Notes

GAME 27

[NR/NR] Auburn (12-14, 3-10 SEC) at [NR/NR] Mississippi State (17-9, 8-5 SEC)

When: Sunday, February 21 • 2 p.m. CT
Where: Humphrey Coliseum (10,500) • Starkville, Miss.
TV/Webcast: MStateAthletics.com
Radio: WMXA 96.7; Andy Burcham (play-by-play), Arnika Edwards (color)
Audio Webcast: AuburnTigers.com
GameTracker: AuburnTigers.com
Series: Auburn leads, 30-13 (11-9 in Starkville)
Last Meeting: Jan. 3, 2010 - 73-58, MSU in Auburn
Last Meeting in Starkville: Feb. 15, 2009 - 63-58, AU
Up Next: Auburn complete its Mississippi swing as it heads to Oxford, Miss., for a 7 p.m., Thursday game at Ole Miss

AUBURN - The Auburn women's basketball team (12-14, 3-10 SEC) will play the first of its final two road games Sunday as the Tigers travel to Starkville, Miss., for a 2 p.m. meeting with Mississippi State (17-9, 8-5 SEC). It is the second meeting between the squads this season with the Bulldogs earning the 73-58 victory earlier this season.

The game is the first of a two-game road swing for the Tigers as Auburn travels to Ole Miss on Thursday, Feb. 25. Auburn will then return home for its regular-season finale on Sunday, Feb. 28 against Kentucky.

Auburn and MSU last played in the SEC-opener for each team and while the Bulldogs have struggled some this season, Mississippi State enters Sundays game having won five of its last seven, including a 73-54 win over in-state rival Ole Miss last weekend.

"Mississippi State is coming off a great win over Ole Miss last Sunday, they are a team that is very dangerous," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner. "They have Tysheka Grimes back, who did not play the first time we played them. She is a really good post player. They are an experienced team playing hard at the end of the SEC season."

With all five Mississippi State starters averaging double-digit points, defense will be the key for Auburn.

"We have to defend. We have to be able to defend their shooters because they hurt us bad with their 3-point shooters when we played them here," said Fortner. We have to take care of the ball, we turned over the ball and it helped them get on some runs that we just never overcame."

With 19.0 points per game, Alexis Rack leads the Bulldogs in scoring. She is followed by Armelie Lumanu (12.6), Tysheka Grimes (11.4), Mary Kathryn Govero (11.3) and Chanel Mokango (10.5). Rack also leads the team in assists with 4.6, making her accountable for nearly 30 Mississippi State points per game.

Lumanu leads the team in rebounding with 7.3 per game, followed by Mokango with 7.0 and Grimes with 6.6. Mokango is also the team's top shot blocker with 2.5 per game.

Mississippi State forces 20.8 opponent turnovers per game while committing only 15.4 of their own. The forced turnovers come on the back of 9.7 steals per game, led by Lumanu with 2.6 and Rack with 2.3 per game.

As a team, MSU shoots 41.0 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from 3-point range. The Bulldogs average 7.3 3-pointers per game, led by Rack with 3.6 and Govero with 2.1.

Auburn last played on Sunday, Feb. 14, falling to No. 23 LSU, 75-51. Not having a Thursday game this week, Fortner was able to give the team some much-needed rest as the season nears its end.

"We gave them an extra couple of days off, which is always good for their legs at this point in time in the season," said Fortner. "We have had good practices and we are looking forward to the game. We are working to become a better team. We have to get out of the little slump we are in and get on a winning track before we head to the SEC tournament."

Leading the way for Auburn this season is junior Alli Smalley with 15.0 points per game, ranking sixth in the SEC. Right behind her is senior KeKe Carrier with 13.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. Carrier ranks in the top 15 in the SEC in all three categories, including a third-place position in blocks.

Since the start of SEC play, freshman Morgan Toles has stepped up her role, averaging 7.8 points and 4.5 assists per game. She posted a career-best 10 assists against Georgia. Redshirt junior Jordan Greenleaf is averaging 7.3 rebounds and 7.5 points in SEC play. She is also making a case for All-Defensive team as she ranks T12th in steals and T11th in blocks in SEC-only games.

The Tigers average shooting 41.6 percent from the field and 31.0 percent from 3-point range. Auburn out-rebounds its opponents by 5.6 per game, 6.2 in SEC games. AU also averages 5.0 blocked shots per game.

Fans can follow the action with live stats and a video Webcast at www.MStateAthletics.com. Tiger fans can also listen to the game live on WMXA 96.7 FM and AuburnTigers.com with play-by-play from Andy Burcham and color commentary from Arnika Edwards.

Auburn Women's Basketball Quick Hitters
• Auburn is coming off a 75-51 loss to LSU; Mississippi State is coming off a 73-54 win vs. Ole Miss
• MSU defeated Auburn, 73-58, on Jan. 3, 2010 in Auburn
• Auburn won the last meeting in Starkville, defeating the Bulldogs 63-58 on Feb. 15, 2009
• Auburn leads the all-time series with Mississippi State, 30-13, and leads 11-9 when playing in Starkville
• Auburn is 64-46 all-time against teams from the state of Mississippi and is 24-31 when playing in Mississippi
• Auburn sophomore Chantel Hilliard is the lone Mississippi native on the roster, hailing from Biloxi
• Auburn has a 177-149 all-time record in the SEC, Nell Fortner has a 38-45 record in conference play
• Auburn is 7-3 all-time on Feb. 21; Nell Fortner is 0-1
• The Tigers are 144-83 all-time in the month of February, 20-22 under Fortner
• The Tigers are 3-8 on the road this season, 1-5 in SEC play
• Auburn is 77-2 under Fortner when scoring 70 or more points
• Nell Fortner is 4-2 all-time against MSU head coach Sharon Fanning-Otis
• Auburn assistant coach Kerry Cremeans got her coaching start as a GA under Fanning at Kentucky
• Youth Movement: Six of Auburn's nine active players are either freshmen or sophomores
• Freshman point guard Morgan Toles tallied 10 assists vs. Georgia, becoming the first AU freshman in 17 years to to so
• In the win over Liberty, Auburn's front-court out-scored the back court for the first time since Feb. 10, 2008; the Tigers repeated the effort at South Alabama, vs. Valparaiso and at San Diego State
• Alli Smalley scored her 1,000th career point in the second half against Vanderbilt, becoming the 25th player to do so
• KeKe Carrier grabbed her 500th career rebound at LSU, Jordan Greenleaf grabbed her 500th rebound vs. Alabama
• For the first time this season, Auburn played with 10 players against Alabama
• Nicolle Thomas scored 27 points against Florida State, the highest point output for an Auburn freshman since 1987
• The Tigers tied the Auburn single-game blocks record against Alabama A&M with 17
• Freshman Morgan Toles and sophomores Chantel Hilliard and Parrisha Simmons earned their first career starts in the season-opener against Troy; freshman Nicolle Thomas earned her first career start against Alabama A&M
• Morgan Toles and Nicolle Thomas started against Alabama A&M, marking the first time for Auburn to have multiple freshmen starters since March 3, 2006 against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament (Boddie, Bonner, Carrier)
• KeKe Carrier, Auburn's lone senior, started against Alabama A&M - her first since Feb. 11, 2007
• The Tigers are beginning their final season in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum before moving to the new Auburn Arena
• Auburn was picked eighth in the SEC Preseason Media and Coaches' polls, LSU (media) and Tennessee (coaches) were picked to win the league this season
• Alli Smalley was picked the the Coaches' Preseason All-SEC Second Team
• Nell Fortner is beginning her sixth season at Auburn, marking her longest tenure at any job
• The Tigers welcome four newcomers: Blanche Alverson, Morgan Toles, Nicolle Thomas, Pascale West
• Auburn begins the season with 6-7 KeKe Carrier and 6-8 Pascale West, two of the three tallest players in the SEC
• AU is without Reneisha Hobbs after suffering an ACL injury, leaving the Tigers with a roster of 10
• Auburn will be a first- and second-round host of the 2011 NCAA Tournament in the new Auburn Arena

NEXT UP FOR THE TIGERS
Auburn will complete its Mississippi swing as the Tigers travel to Ole Miss for a 6 p.m., Thursday meeting.

QUICK HITS
Auburn is in its 39th season of women's basketball and sports an all-time record of 777-343... AU has made 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, two WNIT appearances and three Final Fours in the program's history... Head Coach Nell Fortner is in her sixth season at Auburn with a 130-82 career record and a 113-71 record on the Plains... The Tigers are coming off a 30-4 season in 2008-09 with their first SEC title in 20 years and its second NCAA Tournament appearance in as many seasons.

AUBURN-MISSISSIPPI STATE SERIES
This will be the 44th meeting between Auburn and Mississippi State with Auburn holding a 30-13 series advantage. Auburn has won five of the past seven meetings with MSU, including the last two in Starkville. Head coach Nell Fortner owns a 4-2 record against the Bulldogs. AU holds an 11-9 all-time advantage when playing in Starkville.

LAST TIME AGAINST MISSISSIPPI STATE (Jan. 3, 2010)
The Auburn women's basketball team fell, 73-58, to Mississippi State Jan. 3 in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. A 10-1 run midway through the second half pushed the Bulldogs past the Tigers, who had earlier held a seven-point first half lead.

Senior KeKe Carrier led the Tigers with her fourth double-double of the season, providing 18 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Alli Smalley scored 14 followed by freshman Morgan Toles with 10, tying her career high.

Redshirt junior Jordan Greenleaf pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds and recorded a season-best four steals.

Mississippi State quickly took the lead in the second half as Govero drained five points in the opening 2:30. Toles responded for the Tigers, connecting on a short-range jumper to retake the lead. A back-and-forth battle ensued as the lead was exchanged nine times before the 11:37 mark.

From that point on, the Tigers would only connect on 5-of-13 attempts from the field. Mississippi State's cold spell would end as the Bulldogs connected on 11-of-16 to pull away for the win. MSU jumped to a quick, 55-46, lead that included five from senior Armelie Lumanu.

Four Bulldogs scored in double digits, led by Govero with 22 points. Alexis Rack scored 17, followed by Lumanu with 13 points and team-highs of 10 rebounds and six steals. Chanel Mokango rounded out the group with 12 points.

LAST TIME AGAINST MISSISSIPPI STATE IN STARKVILLE (Feb. 15, 2009)
DeWanna Bonner hit two free throws with 18 seconds left against Mississippi State to put the No. 5 Auburn women's basketball team up by four and out of reach as the Tigers pulled out a 63-58 win Feb. 15, 2009 at MSU's Humphrey Coliseum.

Bonner scored four of her game-high 25 points in the final 1:03 to lead Auburn to the win. She also tallied the 38th double-double of her career, and her first since playing at Arkansas on Jan. 18, with her team-leading 10 rebounds.

Senior point guard Whitney Boddie, along with fellow senior Sherell Hobbs, also hit a pair of free throws each in the final 20 seconds to seal the victory for Auburn. AU was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final 90 seconds, finishing the game at 71.4 percent (20-of-28). Boddie finished the game second on the team with 18 points and three assists. Hobbs was the only other Tiger in double figures with 13 points.

The game would experience four lead changes and six ties in the second half before Auburn would be able to pull away for the win. Alexis Rack led Mississippi State with eight points, shooting 2-of-8 from beyond the arc. Armelie Lumanu followed with six points and a team-best five rebounds.

Rack led the Bulldogs with 15 points and six assists while Robin Porter picked up 13 points and eight rebounds. Lumanu led MSU with 10 rebounds while Chanel Mokango, the SEC's leading shot blocker, was held to just two blocks and six points.

LAST TIME OUT FOR AUBURN
Offensive woes continued to plague the Auburn women's basketball team as the Tigers fell 75-51 to No. 23 LSU Feb. 14 in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Redshirt junior Jordan Greenleaf led the Tigers in scoring and rebounding for the second-consecutive game, finishing with 14 points and six boards.

LSU forced 15 Auburn turnovers in the game, 10 in the first half, and turned them into 21 points off turnovers. The smothering LSU defense also limited Auburn to 35.7 percent shooting from the field, including a paltry 19.0 percent in the first half.

Auburn scored a season-low 13 points in the first half, allowing 42 LSU points for a 29-point deficit. Auburn out-scored the Lady Tigers 38-33 in the second half, but it was not enough as LSU cruised to the win.

Allison Hightower led the Lady Tigers with 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting. LaSondra Barrett followed with 13 points and nine rebounds while Adrienne Webb scored 10 points off the bench.

Following Greenleaf was freshman Blanche Alverson with 11 points. Junior Alli Smalley also finished in double digits as she tallied 10 points in the loss.

LSU shot 46.6 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3-point range. The Lady Tigers also out-rebounded Auburn, 35-31.

LAST TIME OUT FOR MISSISSIPPI STATE
Mississippi State never trailed as the Bulldogs downed in-state rival Ole Miss, 73-54, Feb. 14 in Starkville, Miss. Arelie Lumanu led MSU with 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists while Mary Kathryn Govero shot 3-of-8 from 3-point range for 15 points. Tysheka Grimes rounded out the double-digit Bulldogs with 14 points.

The victory proved even more resounding since MSU played without the services of leading scorer Alexis Rack. Rack suffered a foot injury in the Feb. 11, 55-53, win over South Carolina and did not dress for Sunday's victory.

MSU jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first 10 minutes of the game and led by as many as 14 in the first half. The Bulldogs cruised in the second half, leading by 21 early in the final period, eventually winning by 19.

For the contest, the Lady Bulldogs hit 25 of 58 shots from the field (43.1 percent), 6 of 18 shots from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 17 of 22 shots from the foul line (77.3 percent). The Lady Rebels hit 20 of 56 shots from the field (35.7 percent), 6 of 30 shots from 3-point range (20.0 percent) and 8 of 12 shots from the foul line (66.7 percent).

MSU held a 39-35 rebounding advantage. The Lady Bulldogs had 16 assists and 12 turnovers, while the Lady Rebels had 11 assists and 18 turnovers

AUBURN VS. THE SEC
Auburn is 177-149 all-time in Southeastern Conference Games. Head coach Nell Fortner holds a 38-45 record in the conference.

Nell Fortner VS. SHARON FANNING-OTIS
This will be the seventh meeting between Nell Fortner and Mississippi State's Sharon Fanning-Otis with Fortner holding the 4-2 advantage.

Fortner is in her sixth season at Auburn and seventh overall as a collegiate head coach, holding a 130-82 career record. Fanning-Otis is in her 15th season at MSU, but 33rd overall as a college head coach. She owns a 250-195 record with the Bulldogs

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.

ON THIS DATE. . .
When playing on Feb. 21, Auburn has a 7-3 all-time record, following a 76-68 loss at Ole Miss in 2008. The last AU win on Feb. 21 came in 2002 when the Tigers topped South Carolina, 67-49.

AGAINST THE MAGNOLIA STATE
Auburn holds a 64-46 record against teams from the state of Mississippi. Records against Mississippi teams: Delta State (1-2), Jackson State (3-2), Mississippi (26-22), Mississippi College (0-1), Mississippi State (29-13), Mississippi University for Women (1-4) and Southern Mississippi (4-2).

When playing in the state of Mississippi, Auburn holds a 24-31 record and a 12-12 record when playing in Starkville. Records against teams when playing in Mississippi: Alabama [Starkville] (0-1), Delta State [Cleveland] (0-1), Florida [Starkville] (0-2), Florida [Oxford] (1-0), Georgia [Oxford] (1-0), Mississippi [Oxford] (9-10), Mississippi College [Clinton] (0-1), Mississippi State [Starkville] (11-9), Mississippi University for Women [Columbus] (0-3), Southern Mississippi [Hattiesburg] (1-2), Tennessee [Oxford] (0-1), Valdosta State [Cleveland] (0-1) and Vanderbilt [Starkville] (1-0).

MISSISSIPPI TIGER
Auburn sophomore Chantel Hilliard, a native of Biloxi, Miss., will play in her home state for the first time this season as Auburn takes on Mississippi State.

JOIN THE CLUB
With her layup at the 18:21 mark in the second half against Vanderbilt, junior Alli Smalley joined an exclusive club as she became just the 25th Auburn player ever to score 1,000 career points. She finished the game with 19 points, giving her 1,007 on her career.

Currently with 1,108 career points, she is the third player recruited to Auburn by Nell Fortner to reach the plateau, joining DeWanna Bonner (2,162 points) and Sherell Hobbs (1,372 points).

MOVING ON UP
Junior guard Alli Smalley (1,108 points) has been cruising up the career scoring rankings. She broke into the top 30 at the LSU game and three games later was ranked 24th all-time.

Entering Sunday's game, she needs 24 points to tie Tiffany Krantz (1996-2000) for 22nd place. She is also five 3-pointers away from tying Williams for third all-time in career 3-pointers.

Senior KeKe Carrier made her way into the top 30 on Feb. 4 against South Carolina, scoring 14 points to tie Whitney Boddie (2005-09) for 30th all-time with 951 points. She is currently ranked in a tie for 28th with 971 points and is nine points from tying Diann McNeil (1984-88) for 27th.

FIRST DOUBLE
Junior guard Alli Smalley scored 17 points along with a career-high 11 rebounds Feb. 7 at Alabama, giving her the first double-double of her career.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
Of the nine active players on Auburn's roster, six are freshman or sophomores. KeKe Carrier is the lone senior on the roster with Alli Smalley and Jordan Greenleaf filling out the active junior class.

The remainder of the roster is made up of three sophomores and three freshman. Auburn has started multiple freshmen in 10 games this season with Morgan Toles, Nicolle Thomas and Blanche Alverson earning the starting nod at least once.

GOING TO THE O-BOARDS
Auburn enters the game as the best offensive rebounding team in the SEC in SEC-only games, averaging 16.1 per game. Three of the top six individual offensive rebounders in the SEC are also Auburn players as Jordan Greenleaf ranks third (3.2), followed by Parrisha Simmons (3.1) in fourth and KeKe Carrier (3.0) in sixth. The Tigers have scored 162 second-chance points in SEC games, averaging 12.5 per game.

FILLING A VOID
Auburn lost four players from last season's SEC Championship team, a group of seniors that accounted for 5,091 career points, 2,547 rebounds, 1,410 assists and 685 steals.

Only two teams in the country, UC Riverside (eight players, 5,903 points) and Maryland (six players, 5,33 points) lost more points. UC Riverside (3,219 rebounds) and Wintrop (six players, 2,560 rebounds) lost more rebounds. No team in the country lost more assists or steals.

DISHING IT OUT
In Auburn's 67-53 win over Georgia, freshman point guard Morgan Toles handed out a career-best 10 assists. It marked the first time this season for an Auburn player to tally double-digit assists.

It is also the first time for an Auburn freshman to record double-digit assists since Kristen Mulligan handed out 11 against LSU on Jan. 24, 1993 - more than 17 years ago.

TOP FRESHMAN
Freshman point guard Morgan Toles is the top freshman in the SEC in the assist rankings (5th overall, 4.3 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (9th overall, 1.3).

Nationally, Toles ranks 12th in the country among freshmen (94th overall) in assists and 11th in the country (137th overall) in assist-to-turnover ratio.

EXCITING SEC GAMES
Entering the games of Feb. 21, there have a total of 78 SEC games played and 36 of them have been decided by single digits! That's nearly half (46.2 percent) of all SEC games played this season. Each of the 12 league teams has been involved in at least three of those thrillers. There have been seven overtime games, with one needing triple-overtime and two needing double-overtime to determine the winner.

Auburn has had five games decided by three points or less in the SEC this season and accounts for two of the seven overtime games.

STARTING FRESHMEN
In the Nov. 19 win over Alabama A&M, Nicolle Thomas made her first career appearance in the starting lineup, joining fellow freshman Morgan Toles. With two freshmen starting, it marked the first time for Auburn to have multiple freshmen in the starting lineup since March 3, 2006 when freshmen Whitney Boddie, DeWanna Bonner and KeKe Carrier started in the SEC Tournament against Tennessee.

IN FEBRUARY
Auburn is 144-83 all-time in the month of February, including a 20-22 mark under Nell Fortner (records begin in 1978-79 season, not all dates provided prior to or during that season).

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