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

Dec. 4, 2008

Sam Houston State Game Notes

AUBURN - The No. 14 Auburn women's basketball team will play its last home game of the calendar year Friday as the Tigers (8-0) host Sam Houston State (1-5) at the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. CT with the doors opening at 4:30 p.m.

It will be "Toys for Tots Night" at the game against the Bearkats as fans will receive free admission by donating a new, unwrapped toy.

The game is the final home game of 2008 for the nationally-ranked Tigers. Auburn will hit the road for its five games, returning home on Jan. 3, 2009 to take on Stephen F. Austin at 2 p.m. The game will be the first of a doubleheader with the men's team following at 5 p.m. against Tulane.

Auburn is coming off a 95-74 win over North Carolina A&T Wednesday night, a victory that improved the Tigers to 8-0 for the 13th time in the team's history. Senior DeWanna Bonner led a pack of four Tigers that finished in double digit scoring with 26 points. She was joined by fellow seniors Trevesha Jackson and Sherell Hobbs with 16 points each, and Whitney Boddie with 10.

Sam Houston State is 1-5 on the season with the lone win coming in an 83-80 victory over Centenary. The Bearkats have lost their last three games by an average of 16 points, including a 76-63 loss to Fresno State last weekend at the Southern Methodist Tournament.

"Sam Houston State is playing really well as a team, it does not show in their record, but with them averaging nearly 20 assists per game, they are playing really well as a team," said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner.

"They have some new faces from last season, some freshman, and over time they will be able to put some things together. We just have to be prepared and not overlook them."

Auburn met Sam Houston State for the first time in its history last season, taking an 80-36 win at the Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, Texas. Bonner led the Tigers with 24 points in only 21 minutes of play in the win.

Leading SHSUso far this season is junior Brittany Brooks with her 9.8 points per game. Not far behind her is freshman Khamra Echols with 9.3 points per game and 3.3 assists per game. Echols has two of SHSU's three 20-point games this season, putting up 22 vs. Southern Miss and 21 against Centenary.

Senior Lydia Gonzalez, who averages 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, has the other 20-point game as she tallied 22 last Saturday against Fresno State. The Bearkats' top rebounder is junior Whitney Smith with her 6.5 per outing.

Auburn is 3-0 at home so far this season, averaging 92.3 points per game on its home court with an average margin of victory of 15.7 points. Sam Houston State comes into the game with a 0-3 road record.

Tickets are still available for Friday's game against the Bearkats, as well as women's basketball season tickets. 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. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. for Friday's game.

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.

GAME NOTES

QUICK HITS
Auburn is in its 38th season of women's basketball and sports an all-time record of 743-325... 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 seventh season at Auburn with a 96-64 career record and a 79-53 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
Auburn is riding an 8-0 start to the season with wins over Alabama A&M, Temple, Georgia Southern, No. 17 Ohio State, UAB, North Carolina State, Florida International and North Carolina A&T. The Tigers have a 20.8-point average margin of victory in the eight games, led by SEC Preseason Player of the Year DeWanna Bonner with her SEC-best 20.0 points per game. Auburn has scored more than 90 points in four games while clearing the 60-point barrier in all eight. Three different Tigers are currently averaging double-digit points while six are averaging more than seven points per game.

Sophomore guard Alli Smalley and Bonner are coming off a hot week. Smalley averaged 12.7 points in the three games last week, including a 21-point effort agaisnt FIU to earn MVP honors at the FIU Thanksgiving Classic. Bonner put up a 29-point night at UAB, including 20 second-half points, to lead Auburn to the 91-62 victory over the Blazers. On the week, she averaged 17.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

SCOUTING SAM HOUSTON STATE
Sam Houston State returns eight letterwinners and four starters from last season's team that went 1-28 and finished last in the Southland Conference with a 0-16 mark in the league. The Bearkats are under the direction of third-year head coach Brenda Welch-Williams, who holds a 7-57 record as SHSU's head coach and a 139-205 career mark. The Bearkats were picked to finish last in the Southland's West Division in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches and SIDs.

The Bearkats are 1-5 so far this season with the lone win coming in an 83-80 decision at home against Centenary. Whitney Smith picked up Sam Houston State's lone double-double of the season in the win, posting 17 points and 11 rebounds. SHSU has struggled to stay in games against its other five opponents, losing by 12 to Southern Mississippi, 29 to Arkansas-Little Rock, 14 to TCU, 21 to SMU and 13 to Fresno State. SHSU has taken six days off since its last game, against Fresno State, to prepare for Friday's game against the Tigers.

Leading the team so far this season is junior Brittany Brooks with her 9.8 points per game. Not far behind her is freshman Khamra Echols with 9.3 points per game and 3.3 assists per game. Echols has two of SHSU's three 20-point games this season, putting up 22 vs. Southern Miss and 21 against Centenary. Senior Lydia Gonzalez, who averages 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, has the other 20-point game as she tallied 22 last Saturday against Fresno State. The Bearkats' top rebounder is junior Whitney Smith with her 6.5 per outing.

As a team, SHSU is shooting 38.9 percent from the field, including 30.2 percent from beyond the arc. They average being beat by 14.3 points per game and out-rebounded by 9.0 rebounds per game.

AUBURN-SAM HOUSTON STATE SERIES
Auburn and Sam Houston State have only met once before, last season at the Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, Texas. The Tigers won the initial meeting, 80-36, on Dec. 19, 2007. This will be the first meeting between the teams in the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

LAST TIME VS. SAM HOUSTON STATE
DeWanna Bonner scored 24 points and No. 16 Auburn defeated Sam Houston State 80-36 on Dec. 19, 2007. Bonner, who played only 21 minutes, shot 10-of-12 from the field and made all four of her free throws. Alli Smalley added 12 points. All 11 Auburn players who played scored at least one basket. Deltrice Daniel led Sam Houston State with 12 points.

The Tigers scored 28 points off Sam Houston State turnovers and outscored the Bearkats 44-10 in the paint.

Auburn shot 58 percent from the field to Sam Houston State's 24 percent. The Tigers also out-rebounded the Bearkats, 44-23, in the win.

The Bearkats took their only lead at the 5-4 mark of the game, but Auburn followed with a 26-8 run to build a 17-point lead with five minutes left in the first half. AU went into the locker room at halftime with a 34-16 advantage. A 13-2 run to open the second half built the lead to 29 as Auburn would go on to take the 44-point win, 80-36.

Nell Fortner VS. BRENDA WELCH-WILLIAMS
This will be the second meeting between Auburn head coach Nell Fortner and Sam Houston States's Brenda Welch Williams with Fortner holding the 1-0 advantage after last year's 80-36 win at SHSU. Fortner is in her fifth season at Auburn and sixth overall as a collegiate head coach, holding a 96-64 career record. Welch-Williams is in her third season at SHSU and seventh as a NCAA Division I head coach. She spent five seasons as a junior college head coach before taking her first NCAA post at Mercer. She has a 7-57 mark as SHSU's head coach, a 58-119 record as a Division I head coach and a 138-188 career record as a head coach.

LAST TIME OUT FOR SAM HOUSTON STATE
Lydia Gonzales scored 22 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead Sam Houston State as the Bearkats lost to Fresno State 76-63 in the third place game at the SMU Women's Basketball Classic at Moody Coliseum on Nov. 29.

Sam Houston led 34-30 at halftime and were up seven points, 43-36 on a basket by Gonzales with 16:27 to play. Fresno State came roaring back, going on a 22-2 run to build a 58-45 lead. The Bulldogs ended up outscoring the Bearkats 46-29 in the second period.

Brittany Brooks added 11 points for Sam Houston. The Bearkats shot .446 from the field, hitting 29-of-65 including 3-of-13 three point attempts. Fresno State bounced back from .357 percent shooting in the first half to hit .419 for the game 26-of-62. Fresno State out-rebounded the Bearkats 50 to 29.

Other scoring for Sam Houston included Therese Hager and Khamra Echols each with six points and Leasa Ailshie and Britni Martin with five apiece. Hager led the Bearkats with eight rebounds.

LAST TIME OUT FOR AUBURN
Senior DeWanna Bonner picked up her second double-double of the season as the No. 14/13 Auburn Tigers rolled to a 95-74 victory over the North Carolina A&T Aggies. In all, four Tigers finished the game in double figures as Bonner was followed by seniors Trevesha Jackson and Sherell Hobbs with 16 each and Whitney Boddie with 10. In all, ten of the 11 Tigers chipped in points for the win.

North Carolina A&M jumped to a quick 10-3 lead just 1:24 into the first half and held the lead until the 12:42 mark when a jumper from Bonner tied the game at 18-18. The Tigers battled out the remainder of a first half that saw the score tied on five occasions with three lead changes. With 2:50 left in the first half, a three-point play on a layup and a free throw from Bonner put Auburn ahead for good, making the score 39-37. The Tigers took a 45-42 lead into the locker room on 19-of-36 from the field and 17 points from Bonner.

After the break, Auburn opened up a quick 11-point lead and never allowed the Aggies back within eight. As the half wore on, so grew an Auburn lead that peaked at the 1:48 mark with a 24-point Auburn advantage. The Tigers converted eight second-half Aggie turnovers into 16 points.

NEXT UP FOR THE TIGERS
Auburn hits the road for its final game before final exams as the Tigers travel to Lynchburg, Va., for a 2 p.m., Sunday game at Liberty. The Flames are 1-5 on the season and have lost their last four.

LEAVING HOME
Friday night's game against Sam Houston State is Auburn's final home game of 2008. The Tigers hit the road to close out the calendar year and will not return to the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum until AU takes on Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 3, 2009. The game will be a doubleleader with the men's team following with a game against Tulane.

AGAINST THE SOUTHLAND
Auburn holds a 12-1 record all-time against members of the Southland Conference. AU last met up with a Southland team on Dec. 19, 2007 with an 80-36 win at Sam Houston State. The lone loss to a Southland team came on Jan. 14, 1983 as the Tigers fell to Stephen F. Austin, 59-56. Head coach Nell Fortner holds a 2-0 all-time record against the Southland.

PROTECT THIS HOUSE
In Auburn's three home games this season, the Tigers have averaged scoring 92.3 points per game at home and average beating their opponents by 15.7 points per game.

AU defeated Temple, 95-76, in its home opener and followed up with an 87-80 overtime victory over then-No. 17 Ohio State. Most recently, Auburn downed North Carolina A&T, 95-74.

OUTSIDE THE LEAGUE
Nell Fortner has guided the Tigers to a 52-15 ledger in non-conference play. When playing in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, Fortner's teams have posted a 21-3 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).

HOME COOKIN'
Since a 77-70 loss to Virginia on Jan. 5, 1992, the Auburn Tigers have compiled a 117-5 record against nonconference opponents in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Overall, Auburn has a 331-65 record in its home facility for an 83.6 winning percentage.

8-0 AND COUNTING
Auburn has started its season with a perfect 8-0 record, marking the 13th time in the team's history, and second time under Nell Fortner, for the Tigers to start the season 8-0. AU last did it last season, rattling off nine-straight wins to open the season before losing at Texas A&M.

HANDING OUT LOSSES
In each of Auburn's first four games of the season, the Tigers handed their opponent their first loss of the season. Alabama A&M was the season-opener, Temple entered its game with Auburn 1-0, Georgia Southern was 2-0 and Ohio State was 3-0.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS NO. 100
Auburn's Nell Fortner is closing in on the 100th win of her career as a collegiate head coach. With a 96-64 career record, Fortner could reach the mark within the next few weeks. If Auburn were to win out, she would reach No. 100 on Dec. 21 at Coppin State - Auburn's last game before Christmas.

AGAINST THE RANKED
Auburn holds a 1-0 record against teams ranked in the top-25 this season after its 87-80 overtime win over No. 17 Ohio State. Auburn is now 85-144 all-time against ranked teams and 48-45 when playing at home.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Auburn women's basketball team is logging some miles in the early part of the season as today's game against Sam Houston State is only the fourth home game among the first nine games of the season. Out of 15 non-conference games on the schedule, only four will be played at the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

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 more than 11 points per game more in the second half.

On three occasions, the Tigers have turned a narrow or non-existant halftime lead into a blowout. 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. In all, Auburn has scored 339 second-half points, compared to 252 from its opponents.

IN THE RANKINGS
The Auburn women's basketball team is in its fourth 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 14th in the AP poll and 13th in the coaches poll. AU has been ranked 14th in the AP poll a total of 19 weeks since 1980 with the last coming on Dec. 10, 2007.

LIGHTING UP THE BOARD
Auburn's 95-76 win over Temple was the second game in a row to score 90 or more points, something the team has not done since scoring 95 and 103 points against Alabama A&M and Northwestern State, respectively, on Dec. 29 and 30, 2003.

Auburn put up 95 points again at home on Dec. 3, downing North Carolina A&T, 95-74. The 95 points are tied for the second-most scored in the Nell Fortner era, coming in behind a 99-point effort last season against Colgate (Dec. 5, 2007) and tied with a 95-point outing vs. Western Michigan (Nov. 25, 2006).

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 1,606 career points, Bonner is chasing down Becky Jackson (1980-84) and her 2,068 career points. Needing 462 points to tie Jackson, Bonner would need to average 22.0 points per game in the remaining 21 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.

AUBURN VS. THE STATE
Auburn is 206-54 all-time versus school's in the state of Alabama. Of the 54 losses, 32 have come to Alabama, but Auburn still holds the all-time advantage 36- 32. Nell Fortner is 12-1 all-time versus schools in the state, with the only loss coming to Alabama Jan. 8, 2006 (54-68). The Tigers are 2-0 so far this season with wins over Alabama A&M and UAB.

IN DECEMBER
Auburn is 180-48 all-time in the month of December, including a 24-6 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 56-1 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 23-52 during the Fortner era.

TALLYING THE POINTS
With Auburn's 95 points against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 3, it marked the fourth time this season for the Tigers to break the 90-point barrier - a first for the Nell Fortner era and the first time for AU since the 2003-04 season.

It marks just the 13th season since 1971 for Auburn to put up at least four 90-point games. The most for Auburn in a single season is 14 games, coming during the 1986-87 season.

CONFERENCE LEADERS
Three Tigers are currently leading the SEC in a statistical category this season. Senior DeWanna Bonner leads the conference in scoring with 20.0 points per game, edging out Tennessee's Glory Johnson and her 16.4 points. Fellow senior Whitney Boddie leads the SEC in assists with 6.9 per game, leading MSU's Alexis Rack (5.8) by more than an entire assist per game.

Alli Smalley is the league's best three-point shooter, knocking down 47.6 percent of her attempts. She is currently second in the SEC in three-pointers per game with 20, trailing Vanderbilt's Meredith Marsh by one.

LAST OF THE UNBEATEN
Auburn is among the last three teams in the SEC to hold an undefeated record. The Tigers are currently 8-0 while Ole Miss is 6-0 and Mississippi State is 5-0. The Rebels play again on Thursday against Southeastern Louisiana while the Bulldogs play Sunday against Nicholls State.

GETTING FREE BASKETBALL
Auburn's 87-80 overtime win over Ohio State was the Tigers' first overtime game in nearly two years.

It is the first overtime game since defeating James Madison, 79-76, at the Miami Holiday Tournament on Dec. 28, 2006 and the first home overtime game since defeating Tulane, 75-64, on Jan. 5, 2002. Head coach Nell Fortner is now 2-2 all-time at Auburn in overtime games.

DEJA VU
Alli Smalley's four three-pointers against Temple tied her career high of three-pointers in a game. She last reached the mark exactly a year prior to the Temple game, hitting four against UAB on Nov. 17, 2007.

JOIN THE CLUB
With her 29 points against Temple, senior DeWanna Bonner hit exactly 1,500 career points, making her just the eighth Auburn player ever to reach the plateau.

Bonner is also one of only four Auburn players ever to post 1,500 points and 750 rebounds in their careers. The others are Becky Jackson, Vickie Orr and Marianna Merritt. Orr was the last Tiger to make both lists, finishing her Auburn career in 1989.

Fellow senior Sherell Hobbs joined an exclusinve club of her own as she logged the 1,000th point of her career at Georgia Southern. She is one of only 24 Auburn players ever to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

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 12.1 steals per game in its first eight games, forcing 22.4 opponent turnovers per outing. AU has had double-digit steals in five of its eight games.

Three current Tigers are also ranked among the most prolific theifs all-time at Auburn. Sherell Hobbs ranks eighth with 189 career steals while DeWanna Bonner has 169, sitting one steal shy of the top 10. Whitney Boddie is chasing down the list as well with 135 steals, needing 35 more to make the list.

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).

More Auburn Football Headlines

More Auburn Headlines

SEC Headlines