• Auburn Arena
• Game Notes
• Media Guide
• Quick Facts
• Camps
• Standings
• Archives
• Fan Guide

Nov. 16, 2009

Temple Game Notes

AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn women's basketball season will continue its season Tuesday as the Tigers travel to Philadelphia, Pa., for a meeting with Temple. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. CT from Temple's McGonigle Hall.

The meeting is the fifth all-time between the programs and the second year in a row after the Tigers and Owls faced off last season in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum with Auburn taking the 95-76 win. It will be Auburn's first time to play Temple on its home floor and only the 17th time ever for the Tigers to play in the state of Pennsylvania.

Both teams are coming off wins in their season-openers. Auburn downed in-state rival Troy, 70-65, while Temple went to overtime with Big Ten member Illinois, taking the 82-78 win after being down by as many as 18 points.

With one game under her team's belt, sixth-year head coach Nell Fortner is looking for some improvement out of her young Tigers.

"There is so much improvement we need in every area, but I thought we had a good practice Sunday," said Fortner. "We are trying to be as good a defensive team as we can be, we had a lot of defensive breakdowns against Troy and we need to make sure we don't have those against Temple."

Leading the Temple offense is Shaqwedia Wallace, who scored a team-high 27 points against Illinois. She also led the Owls against Auburn last season, coming off the bench for 21 points. Kristen McCarthy, a preseason All-Atlantic 10 selection, also had a big game against the Fighting Illini, tallying 19 points in the win.

Temple relies on the 3-point shot and took 29 against Illinois, connecting on eight. Wallace had four 3-pointers in the game.

"Temple is very athletic and they shoot the ball from all over the floor," said Fortner. "They have some extremely quick guards and they are very fast. They will shoot the ball in transition and we have to be ready to guard out the NBA range as far as the 3-point shot is concerned.

"They are playing at home, in their environment, and we have to be ready to combat that."

Fortner will take a young team on the road, one that has only one senior and three players that earned their first career starts in the season-opener against Troy. Going on the road for the first time this season, she said she has to keep her team focused in the difficult environment.

"We just have to keep them focused, help them know exactly what they need to be doing on the floor and see that they are well-versed in what the opponent is going to do to them," said Fortner. "They have to keep stepping forward and making progress, doing little things right that will lead to big things and keep giving them experience."

Leading the young group against Temple will be juniors Alli Smalley and Jordan Greenleaf. Smalley tied her career high with 23 points against Temple while Greenleaf, who is coming off a knee injury last season, led the team with nine rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot.

A live video Webcast and live stats for Tuesday's game are available at OwlSports.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. Audio Webcasts will also be available at www.AuburnTigers.com.

Auburn Women's Basketball Quick Hitters
• Alli Smalley tied her career high with 23 points in the season-opener against Troy
• Freshman Morgan Toles and sophomores Chantel Hilliard and Parrisha Simmons earned their first career starts in the season-opener against Troy
• Auburn holds a 11-5 all-time record against teams from the state of Pennsylvania
• AU holds a 3-4 all-time record when playing in the state of Pennsylvania and a 1-1 ledger when in Philadelphia
• The Tigers are beginning their final season in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum before moving to the new Auburn Arena
• AU is 25-13 all-time in road openers (away and neutral) and 15-9 in true road openers
• Auburn owns a 4-0 all-time lead in the series with Temple; this will be the first meeting between the teams at Temple
• Auburn is 3-0 all-time on Nov. 17; the last game on Nov. 17 was against Temple (W, 95-76) on Nov. 17, 2008
• The Tigers are 95-16 all-time in the month of November, 26-6 under Fortner
• Auburn owns an 18-7 all-time record against current members of the Atlantic 10 Conference
• AU has a 61-15 non-conference record under Nell Fortner
• 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
• AU is receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches' top-25 polls, it marks the third year in a row for Auburn to either receive votes or be ranked in the preseason poll
• 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 and Morgan Jennings after suffering ACL injuries, leaving the Tigers with a roster of nine
• Auburn will be a first- and second-round host of the 2011 NCAA Tournament in the new Auburn Arena

RANKINGS
Auburn and Temple are both currently receiving votes in the NCAA Division I AP poll and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.

NEXT UP FOR THE TIGERS
Auburn returns home for a 6 p.m., Thursday game against in-state rival Alabama A&M.

QUICK HITS
Auburn is in its 39th season of women's basketball and sports an all-time record of 766-329... 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 119-68 career record and a 102-57 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.

IN ROAD OPENERS
In 38 seasons, Auburn has put together a 25-13 record in road openers (away or neutral) and a 15-9 mark when playing a true road game. The Tigers are 3-2 in road openers under Nell Fortner after winning their last three.

THE SERIES
Auburn holds a 4-0 all-time advantage over Temple in the all-time series. Tuesday's meeting marks the first at Temple as the past three have been in Auburn. The first meeting came at the 1980 Connecticut Classic. Nell Fortner is 1-0 against Temple.

SCOUTING AUBURN
Auburn returns seven letterwinners and one starter from last season's team that went 30-4, won the SEC title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers are under the direction of head coach Nell Fortner who is in her sixth season at Auburn. She sports a 119-68 overall record as a head coach and a 102-57 record on the Plains.

Junior Alli Smalleyis the lone holdover from that lineup after averaging 11.1 points per game last season. She tied her career high with 23 points in the season opener against Troy.

Smalley will be looked upon to help fill the offensive void left by last season's seniors as they accounted for 67 percent of Auburn's total offense, scoring 51.2 of the Tigers' 76.5 points per outing.

AU also welcomes back redshirt junior Jordan Greenleaf after she sat out the bulk of the 2008-09 season with an ACL injury. She averaged 6.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore and was averaging 7.0 points and 5.2 rebounds in her five appearances last season. She led the Tigers with nine rebounds against Troy.

Three of Auburn's starters picked up their first collegiate start in the season-opener. Freshman Morgan Toles started at point guard while sophomores Parrisha Simmons and Chantel Hilliard found their way in the lineup.

SCOUTING TEMPLE
Temple returns nine letter winners and two starters from last season's team that went 21-10 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Owls were ousted by SEC member Florida in the first round. Temple is under the direction of second-year head coach Tonya Cardoza, who has a 22-10 record as a head coach.

Temple came from behind to force overtime in their season-opener, downing Big Ten member Illinois, 82-78. Shaqwedia Wallace, who had 21 points off the bench against Auburn last season, led the Owls with 27 points.

Temple shot 37.1 percent from the field in the game and relied heavily on the 3-point shot, hitting 8-of-29 attempts.

Senior guard LaKeisha Eaddy was named to the Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team and Defensive Team while sophomore Kristen McCarthy was named to the third team. The Owls were picked to finish fifth in the 14-member conference in a vote of the league's head coaches.

LAST TIME OUT FOR AUBURN
Auburn is coming off a 70-65 win in its season-opener over Troy on Nov. 13. The Tigers improved to 31-2 in the all-time series with the Trojans.

The teams battled throughout with the game featuring eight ties and seven lead changes.

Alli Smalley led the Tigers with 23 points, tying her career high. Jordan Greenleaf led with nine rebounds while freshman Blanche Alverson came off the bench for a team-best five assists. The game served as the first career start for freshman Morgan Toles and sophomores Chantel Hilliard and Parrisha Simmons.

LAST TIME OUT FOR TEMPLE
Temple battled back from 18 points down to get the 82-78 overtime win over Illinois. Down three points late in the game, Kristen McCarthy was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left and hit all three to tie the game. Illinois missed a 3-point attempt as time expired and was out-scored 7-3 by Temple in the extra period for the loss.

Shaqwedia Wallace led the Owls with 27 points while Jasmine Stone came off the bench for a team-high nine rebounds. LaKeisha Eaddy tallied nine points and 10 assists in the win.

LAST TIME VS. TEMPLE
Auburn and Temple last met exactly a year ago on Nov. 17, 2008 with the Tigers taking the 95-76 win in their home opener. DeWanna Bonner scored 29 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the win. Sherell Hobbs added 20 points while Alli Smalley chipped in 18, including four 3-pointers.

The Tigers led by three at the half, but erupted for 58 second-half points en route to the 19-point victory.

Shaqwedia Wallace came off the bench for 21 points and five assists to lead Temple while Shanea Cotton added 17 points and six rebounds.

Nell Fortner VS. TONYA CARDOZA
This is the second time that Auburn's Nell Fortner and Temple's Tonya Cardoza will face each other with Fortner holding the 1-0 advantage. Fortner is in her fifth season at Auburn and holds a 102-57 record on The Plains. Cardoza is in her second season at Temple and holds a 22-10 record. Prior to coming to Temple, Cardoza spent 14 seasons as an assistant coach at Connecticut.

AGAINST THE ATLANTIC 10
Auburn holds an 18-7 all-time record against current members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. Auburn's last meeting against an A-10 team came last season as the Tigers downed Duquesne, 87-67, on Dec. 29, 2008. The last loss against an A-10 team came on March 22, 2008 in a 56-55 loss to George Washington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

ON THIS DATE. . .
Auburn is 3-0 all-time when playing on Nov. 17 with the three games coming in each of the last three years. The Tigers downed Winston-Salem State, 85-47, in 2006; UAB, 93-66, in 2007; and Temple, 95-76, in 2008.

14 IN A ROW
With the season-opening win over Troy, the Auburn women's basketball team has won its last 14 home games, dating back to the 2007-08 season. Auburn's last home loss came on Feb. 28, 2008 in a 73-56 decision to Vanderbilt. The Tigers won the last home game of the 2007-08 season and followed up by winning all 12 home games last season.

OUTSIDE THE LEAGUE
Nell Fortner has guided the Tigers to a 61-15 ledger in non-conference play. When playing in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, Fortner's teams have posted a 24-3 mark. The only three non-conference losses in BEMC came from Xavier on Dec. 2, 2005 (58-60), No. 2 Duke on Dec. 31, 2004 (61-80) and No. 20 George Washington on Jan. 3, 2008 (68-66).

OFFENSE WINS GAMES
Auburn is 72-2 when scoring 70 or more points in the Nell Fortner era. The only times Auburn has lost when scoring at least 70 points was on Jan. 20, 2005 vs. No. 7 Tennessee, 71-81 and Feb. 19, 2009 at No. 18 Vanderbilt, 73-70. When scoring less than 70 points, Auburn is 30-54 during the Fortner era.

IN NOVEMBER
Auburn is 95-16 all-time in the month of November, including a 26-6 mark under Nell Fortner (records begin in 1978-79 season, not all dates provided prior to or during that season).

More Auburn Football Headlines

More Auburn Headlines

SEC Headlines