AU WOMEN’S HOOPS: Real season opens for No. 9 Tigers

Nell Fortner had to stop herself before she said it.

The Auburn women’s basketball coach has been doing enough interviews and has even done some TV work, so she knows all about overused clichés and how annoying they can be at times.

But as she rocked back in her office chair early this week, Fortner couldn’t help herself when prompted about her team’s 15-0 start and the direct correlation it may or may not have on the upcoming SEC season.

“It’s like it’s a whole new season. The preseason is over with. Everybody starts 0-0 right now,” Fortner said. “And I know that sounds like coach talk, but it’s true. It really is. You play all those games to get ready for this season.”

That season starts tonight, as No. 9 Auburn will travel to South Carolina to kick off its run through the conference schedule. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

Auburn has racked up a number of quality wins on its way to the program’s best start since 1988-89 and has done most of its work away from Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers stand as one of five unbeaten teams in the country and hold the only unblemished mark in the SEC.

Still, Fortner remained adamant that tonight’s game might as well be considered the season opener.

“We haven’t beat anyone yet. We haven’t won anything yet. We haven’t done anything yet,” Fortner said. “If there’s a bull’s-eye on our back, we don’t see it. Everybody else has a bull’s-eye on their back as far as we’re concerned.

“We’re trying to get someplace, and you’ve got to win to do that.”

How Auburn has gotten to where it is now should be considered even more impressive, considering it dresses just 10 players and, aside from center KeKe Carrier, does not get much scoring from its bench. Key reserve — and occasional starter — Jordan Greenleaf was lost for the season when she tore her anterior cruciate ligament in practice last month.

The chemistry of Auburn’s veteran-laden starting five, Fortner said, has been the key to its perfect start.

“I know we fought for every victory, and that’s what you want your team to do,” Fortner said. “And we won, and that makes it that much better. We just want to keep that train on the track.”

Asked who she thought stood out in the SEC, Fortner said “everybody has impressed me.”

That includes South Carolina (8-5), which is under the guidance of new coach Dawn Staley, a former WNBA point guard.

“I’ve watched tape and everybody looks like national champions,” Fortner said. “I’ve been in this league long enough to know that everybody is good in this league. I don’t care what your record says.

“When it comes to conference play, it is a tough, tough league.”

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