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March 18, 2011

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Women's Basketball Set For WNIT Second-Round Meeting At Toledo

TOLEDO, Ohio - Auburn's postseason hopes stay alive as the Tigers (16-15) arrived in Toledo, Ohio, Friday for an 11 a.m. CT, Saturday meeting with Toledo (24-8) in the second round of the WNIT.

Both teams are coming off come-from-behind victories to make the second round. Auburn came from seven points down against Tennessee Tech on Thursday for a 68-54 victory. Toledo had to come from behind to pull out the 58-55 win over Delaware on Wednesday.

Taking a team loaded with youth into the postseason, Auburn head coach Nell Fortner is enjoying the experience her players are getting.

"Anything you can do positively in the postseason is good," said Fortner. "We have a lot of freshmen that are getting some good postseason minutes, everything is a growing experience right now. We are learning and everything is positive."

Fortner got a spread effort from her team at Tennessee Tech with four different Tigers scoring in double figures. Auburn's bench also out-scored the Golden Eagles, 17-3.

"Getting a lot of players involved is great because we don't have that one, dominating scorer. For us to be able to spread it out and get four players in double figures is definitely a good thing. We shot the ball really well in the second half, got some great minutes off the bench and that is key this time of year."

Toledo stormed through the season, compiling a 24-8 record and a 14-2 mark in the Mid-American Conference - good enough for the league's regular-season championship. The Rockets advanced to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament, falling to Eastern Michigan, 61-55.

The Tigers and Rockets have one common opponent from the season in Purdue. Auburn and Toledo both lost to the Boilermakers in the regular-season meetings.

Naama Shafir leads Toledo in points and assists with 14.3 and 5.1 per game, respectively. Also averaging double figures is Melissa Goodall with 13.3 points along with her team-best 7.1 rebounds per game. Jessica Williams, the team's top 3-point threat, is right behind her with 9.2 points per game. Seventy one of Williams' 95 field goals this season have been 3-pointers.

As a team, the Rockets shoot 41.2 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from 3-point range. Nine different players have hit a 3-pointer this season with Williams leading the way with 71 at a 39.2 percent clip.

"Toledo is another tough team and another conference champion for us to face," said Fortner. "They shoot the 3 really well and play excellent defense, holding their opponents in the 50s with 38 percent shooting. They are tough, they are very good and have a great guard in Naama Shafir running that team."

After entering the month of February in a tie for second place in the SEC, the Tigers struggled to finish out the season with a 2-6 mark in the month and a loss in the first round of the SEC Tournament. Auburn managed to finish the season in a tie for fifth in the SEC and a .500, 15-15, overall record to earn a bid to the WNIT.

It marks the fourth time in the last five years for the Tigers to advance to the postseason. The WNIT appearance is Auburn's third appearance in the tournament.

The Tigers have lived off their defense this season, averaging 8.5 steals and 4.0 blocks per game. Auburn opponents average 18.5 turnovers per game with the Tigers scoring an average of 17.5 points per game off of turnovers.

Senior Alli Smalley, an All-SEC First Team selection, leads the team with 12.3 points per game, followed by sophomore Blanche Alverson with 10.4 per game. Smalley and Alverson have also combined to average 3.1 3-pointers made per game.

Alverson also leads the team in rebounding with 4.8 boards per game, followed by freshman Jassany Williams with 3.7 per game. Sophomore Morgan Toles averages 8.6 points and 5.1 assists per game, good enough for first in the SEC.

For fans that cannot make it to the game, live stats and a free video Webcast will be available at UTRockets.com. Tiger fans can listen to the game live on WMXA 96.7 FM with play-by-play from Andy Burcham and color commentary from Arnika Edwards. An audio Webcast will also be available at AuburnTigers.com.

Auburn University will host the first and second rounds of the 2011 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship, March 20 and 22 at Auburn Arena. Tickets are available now at AUBTix.com.

Follow Auburn women's basketball on Twitter at twitter.com/AuburnWBB.

Auburn (16-15) vs. Toledo (24-8) March 19, 2011 -- 11 a.m. CT Savage Arena (7,300) -- Toledo, Ohio ONLINE VIDEO: UTRockets.com

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