No. 15 Auburn women take down N.C. State

MIAMI — Three Tigers scored in double figures as the No. 15 Auburn women’s basketball team (6-0) picked up a 66-51 win over North Carolina State (4-3) in its first game of the Florida International Thanksgiving Classic in Miami.

Auburn stormed out in the first half, building a 15-point lead at the break, and was able to hold off a potential Wolfpack comeback in the second half for the win. Auburn scored just 27 points in the second half, its lowest offensive output so far this season, with several misses close to the basket.

“I thought we just shot the ball kind of poorly. We had some good looks, missed some layups and had some bad turnovers, and it got us out of rhythm a little bit,” said Auburn head coach Nell
Fortner. “We battled hard tonight and got on the offensive glass really well. We just have to take advantage of those offensive boards and turn them into points.”

Auburn snagged 21 offensive rebounds on the night, but could only convert them into 15 second-chance points. Most of the misses came in the heart of the second half when N.C. State went on a 16-5 run, turning a one-time 18-point Tiger lead into a 7-point lead.

Seniors Trevesha Jackson and DeWanna Bonner responded by scoring the next 12 points for Auburn, building the lead back up to 14.

“I was really pleased with how Trevesha Jackson played and with DeWanna Bonner; there was a point in the second half where DeWanna put the team on her shoulders and widened the gap for us.”

Bonner finished the game with 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks while Jackson posted 13 points and seven rebounds, co-leading on the boards with junior Jordan Greenleaf. Sherell Hobbs led the Auburn offensive attack with 15 points, hitting 2-of-4 three-point attempts and all three of her free throws. Hobbs also added five rebounds and four steals in the game.

Senior Shayla Fields led the Wolfpack with a game-high 23 points, shooting 10-of-21 from the field along with her seven rebounds.

Sophomore Brittany Strachan also finished in double figures, scoring ten second-half points to finish the game with 11.

Auburn jumped on North Carolina State quick out of the gate, building a 9-point lead just 6 minutes into the game. The Tigers would eventually extend the lead to as many as 19 at the 35-16 mark.

Alli Smalley scored all 9 of her points in the first half, leading the Tigers to a 39-24 lead at the break. Sherell Hobbs, Bonner and Greenleaf added eight points each. Fields led the Wolfpack with 14 points and five rebounds.

AU built the lead back to 18 early in the second half before the Wolfpack went on its run, holding the Tigers to just 5 points from the 18:34 mark until Jackson hit a jumper on a feed from Smalley with 9:03 left in the game. Auburn out-scored N.C. State 16-8 in the final 10 minutes of the game to pick up its sixth win of the season.

The win was the first for Fortner against Hall of Fame head coach Kay Yow, who is the fifth-winningest NCAA Division I women’s basketball coach. She holds a 733-340 career record, including a 676-321 mark as N.C. State’s head coach.

Auburn shot 27-of-66 from the field in the win for 40.9 percent while holding the Wolfpack to 35.6 percent on 21-of-59 shooting. The Tigers were 4-of-9 from beyond the arc and made good at the free throw line, hitting 8-of-13 attempts.

AU out-rebounded N.C. State, 44-38, and limited itself to 11 turnovers in the game while forcing 15 Wolfpack turnovers on the back of seven steals.

The Tigers return to the court today at 1 p.m., facing host FIU.

The Golden Panthers are 1-4 this season, picking up their first win Friday night against North Carolina State, 58-42.