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Nov. 21, 2009

Auburn Game Notes

Texas A&M Game Notes

AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn women's basketball team (2-1) will host its first ranked opponent of the season Sunday as No. 15/8 Texas A&M (2-0) comes to Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. with the doors opening at 12:30 p.m.

Playing one of the biggest non-conference games on the schedule, Auburn head coach Nell Fortner said it will be important to get a big crowd out to the game Sunday.

"We need a home-court advantage, we need that sixth man helping us through this game," said Fortner. "Texas A&M is a very exciting team to watch and it should be a good ballgame. We are dropping our banners from last season and that will be very exciting. Our fans are a big reason why we won the SEC championship last year and I hope to see a lot of them out there to help us celebrate that and cheer us through this big game."

The 2009 NCAA and SEC banners will be unveiled in a ceremony prior to the start of the game against the Aggies. Auburn went 30-4 last season, winning the team's first Southeastern Conference championship in 20 years while advancing to its second NCAA Tournament in as many years.

"It is going to be very special," said Fortner. "It is not every year you win an SEC championship, they are very hard to come by. We are very proud of it and what we accomplished last season, and it will be exciting to see those hanging up there in the rafters."

The ceremony precedes a game in which Fortner is set to face off against one of her coaching mentors. Fortner's first experience as a college coach came during the 1986-87 season when she was hired as a graduate assistant under Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair, who was then head coach at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Fortner would eventually be hired on as assistant coach as Blair and the Ladyjacks put together a 112-18 record over Fortner's four seasons on staff, advancing to the NCAA Tournament three times and the Sweet Sixteen twice.

Blair stayed at SFA until 1993 when he took over as head coach at Arkansas, a position he held until 2003 when he left for Texas A&M.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for him (Blair) and what he has done at Texas A&M," said Fortner. "He is the first coach that gave me a chance to be a college coach and I learned a bunch of basketball under him. He has done a great job at Texas A&M and they are a force to be reckoned with, one of the best teams in the country."

Living up to that billing, the Aggies enter Sunday's game ranked 15th in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll and eighth in the ESPN/USA Today Top-25 Coaches' Poll. Texas A&M opened its season with an upset with over sixth-ranked Duke, 95-77. Texas A&M followed the win up with an 86-50 victory over in-state rival Rice.

"Texas A&M is a team that is full of great athletes that can do a lot of things on the floor," said Fortner. "They are very fast, physical, play man-to-man defense and have the capability to press you for 40 minutes. They also get after you in the half court very physically, we remember that from College Station two years ago."

Auburn and Texas A&M have only met once before with the Aggies taking the 62-60 win on Dec. 15, 2007 in College Station, Texas. Auburn trailed by as many as 14 in the first half, but rallied back to have a shot at the road win. Current redshirt junior Jordan Greenleaf led the Tigers in the come-from-behind effort, tallying 13 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots.

Leading Texas A&M this season is junior college transfer Danielle Adams, who is averaging 19.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game off the bench. She is one of four Aggies averaging double figures, coming in ahead of Tanisha Smith (16.5), Sydney Colson (11.5) and Sydney Carter (10.5). Damitria Buchanan leads the team in rebounding with 6.0 per game.

As a team, Texas A&M shoots 51.2 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from 3-point land. Adams, Colson and Carter have three 3-pointers each for Texas A&M this season.

The Aggies have a 27-point average margin of victory, but only average out-rebounding their opponents by 0.5 per game.

Tickets are still available for Sunday's game, as well as season tickets. Season ticket individual packages are $50, while the family plan, which includes four tickets, is $150. Regular season-single game tickets are $5 and Auburn students are allowed in for free. Groups of 20 or more can purchase in advance for a discounted price of $2 per ticket.

For more information, please call the Athletic Department ticket office at 1-800-AUB-1957 or visit www.auburntigers.com.

For fans that cannot make it to the game GameTracker will be available at www.AuburnTigers.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 and video Webcasts will also be available at www.AuburnTigers.com.

Auburn Women's Basketball Quick Hitters

• Sunday's game against Texas A&M is Auburn's first against a ranked team this season
• Auburn is 88-146 all-time vs. ranked teams, 50-46 at home and 2-12 against teams ranked 15th in the AP poll
• Auburn is coming off an 83-56 win over in-state rival Alabama A&M on Thursday, Nov. 19
• 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
• Two active Tigers (Greenleaf and Smalley) played against Texas A&M in 2007, Greenleaf led Auburn with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocked shots, Smalley had 1 rebound in three minutes of play
• Two active Aggies (Buchanan and Colson) played against Auburn in 2007, Buchanan had 5 points and 2 rebounds in 12 minutes of play while Colson had a rebound and block in six minutes
• Head Coach Nell Fortner will face off against Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair; Fortner got her collegiate coaching start under Blair at Stephen F. Austin in 1986
• Texas A&M owns a 1-0 all-time lead in the series with Auburn with the lone meeting coming in 2007 (62-60)
• Auburn is 4-1 all-time on Nov. 22; the last game on Nov. 22 was at Buffalo (W, 70-41) in 2005
• The Tigers are 96-17 all-time in the month of November, 27-7 under Fortner
• Auburn owns an 8-4 all-time record against current members of the Big 12 Conference
• AU has a 62-16 non-conference record under Nell Fortner
• Since Jan. 5, 1992, Auburn has compiled a 122-5 record against non-conference opponents at home
• Auburn has won 15 consecutive home games, dating back to the 2007-08 season
• 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

GAME NOTES

RANKINGS
Auburn is currently receiving votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. Texas A&M is ranked 15th in the Associated Press poll and 8th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll..

NEXT UP FOR THE TIGERS
Auburn remains at home for the third game in a three-game homestand as the Tigers take on Georgia Southern at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 24.

QUICK HITS
Auburn is in its 39th season of women's basketball and sports an all-time record of 767-330... 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 120-69 career record and a 103-58 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.

THE SERIES
Texas A&M holds a 1-0 all-time series lead over Auburn. The Aggies won the lone meeting on Dec. 15, 2007 as 12th-ranked Texas A&M downed 14th-ranked Auburn, 62-60.

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 119-69 overall record as a head coach and a 102-58 record on the Plains.

Junior Alli Smalley is 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 and is averaging 21.3 points per game on the season, good enough for fourth in the SEC.

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. So far this season, she is averaging 4.3 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game, along with 3.0 steals.

The Tigers will sport a new starting lineup for the second game this season, moving senior KeKe Carrier and freshman Nicolle Thomas in the lineup to replace Parrisha Simmons and Chantel Hilliard.

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
Texas A&M returns 10 letterwinners and two starters from last season's team that went 27-8, finished in a tie for third in the Big 12 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. The Aggies were picked fourth in the Big 12 Preseason poll and have been ranked in the top 25 all season. Junior college transfer Danielle Adams was tabbed as the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year.

Texas A&M is under the direction of Gary Blair, former Arkansas head coach who is in his seventh season as the Aggies' head coach. He sports a 131-66 record at A&M and a 539-229 career mark.

Adams, a junior college transfer from Jefferson College, leads the team in scoring with 19.5 points per game, coming off the bench in both game. She had 24 points in the upset win over sixth-ranked Duke in the season-opener.

Tanisha Smith is second on the team in scoring with 16.5 points, one of four Aggies averaging double figures. Sydney Colson averages 11.5 points per outing while Sydney Carter averages 10.5.

Damitria Buchanan leads the team in rebounding with 6.0 per game, followed by Adams and Kelsey Assarian with 4.5 each.

As a team, Texas A&M shoots 51.2 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from 3-point land. Adams, Colson and Carter have three 3-pointers each for Texas A&M this season.

The Aggies have a 27-point average margin of victory, but only average out-rebounding their opponents by 0.5 per game.

LAST TIME OUT FOR AUBURN
Auburn is coming off an 83-56 win over in-state rival Alabama A&M. The Tigers tied the school record for blocked shots in a game with 17. Freshman Pascale West led the block party with seven while KeKe Carrier followed with five.

Alli Smalley led the Tigers with 22 points, followed by freshman Nicolle Thomas with 15.

The Tigers dominated the first half, out-scoring Alabama A&M 39-14. Auburn would go on to lead by as many as 29 before settling for the 27-point win.

Auburn shot 51.6 percent from the field, including a 61.5 percent mark from 3-point land. Smalley and Thomas had three 3-pointers each in the win.

LAST TIME OUT FOR TEXAS A&M
Danielle Adams scored 15 points off the bench, leading Texas A&M to an 86-50 win over Rice, improving the Aggies to 2-0 on the season. Tanisha Smith also scored in double figures, adding 14 points in the winning effort.

Texas A&M stormed to a 47-22 halftime lead and out-scored Rice 39-28 in the second half. Sixteen different Aggies saw action in the game.

The Aggies forced 29 Rice turnovers, tallying 11 steals in the game with Sydney Colson accounting for three.

Texas A&M shot 46.4 percent from the field and went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. The Aggies also knocked down 19 of their 25 free throw attempts for 76 percent.

LAST TIME VS. TEXAS A&M
The Auburn comeback was stopped short as hosting Texas A&M held off Auburn for the 62-60 victory on Dec. 15, 2007. The Aggies took a 39-28 lead at halftime, leading by as many as 14 in the opening period. The Tigers out-scored Texas A&M, 32-23, in the second half, closing the gap to two, but ran out of time for the upset win.

Jordan Greenleaf led the Tigers with 13 points and nine rebounds, followed by Whitney Boddie with 12 points, Sherell Hobbs with 11 and DeWanna Bonner with 10. Greenleaf also blocked five shots in the game.

Takia Starks led Texas A&M with 17 points, followed by Danielle Gant with 16 and nine rebounds. Current Aggie Damitria Buchanan had five points off the bench in the win.

Nell Fortner VS. GARY BLAIR
This is the second time that Auburn's Nell Fortner and Texas A&M's Gary Blair will face each other with Blair holding the 1-0 advantage. Fortner is in her fifth season at Auburn and holds a 103-58 record on The Plains. Blair is in his seventh season at Texas A&M and holds a 131-66 record.

AGAINST THE BIG 12
Auburn holds an 8-4 all-time record against current members of the Big 12 Conference. Auburn's last meeting against a Big 12 school came in 2007 when the Tigers lost at Texas A&M, 62-60. The last Auburn win over a Big 12 team came on April 4, 2003 as the Tigers downed Baylor, 64-63, in the WNIT Championship Game in Waco, Texas.

AGAINST THE RANKED
Auburn holds an 88-146 all-time record against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, including a 50-46 mark at home. The Tigers are 2-12 all-time against teams ranked 15th in the country, Nell Fortner is 0-1 with a loss against 15th-ranked Vanderbilt, 73-67, on Jan, 13, 2005. Auburn's last win over a team ranked 15th in the nation came on Jan. 5, 1985 in a 61-48 victory over Rutgers.

ON THIS DATE. . .
Auburn is 4-1 all-time when playing on Nov. 22. The last game for the Tigers on Nov. 19 came in 2005 when the Tigers picked up a 70-41 win at Buffalo. The lone loss came in a 1980 loss at Vanderbilt, 79-74.

FORTNER-BLAIR CONNECTION
Auburn head coach Nell Fortner made her collegiate coaching debut during the 1986-87 season, initially serving as a graduate assistant under second-year head coach Gary Blair.

Fortner would eventually be hired on as assistant coach as Blair and the Ladyjacks put together a 112-18 record over four seasons, advancing to the NCAA Tournament three times and the Sweet Sixteen twice.

Blair stayed at SFA until 1993 when he took over as head coach at Arkansas, a position he held until 2003 when he left for Texas A&M.

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.

BACK IN THE LINEUP
KeKe Carrier, the lone senior on Auburn's roster this season, made her 24th career start on Nov. 19 against Alabama A&M. It marked the first time for Carrier to start a game at Auburn since Feb. 11, 2007 when she started at Vanderbilt.

HOME COOKIN'
Since a 77-70 loss to Virginia on Jan. 5, 1992, the Auburn Tigers have compiled a 122-5 record against non-conference opponents in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Overall, Auburn has a 341-65 record in its home facility for an .840 winning percentage.

15 IN A ROW
With the season-opening win over Troy and victory over Alabama A&M, the Auburn women's basketball team has won its last 15 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 62-16 ledger in non-conference play. When playing in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, Fortner's teams have posted a 25-3 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 73-2 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 30-55 during the Fortner era.

IN NOVEMBER
Auburn is 96-17 all-time in the month of November, including a 27-7 mark under Nell Fortner (records begin in 1978-79 season, not all dates provided prior to or during that season).

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