AU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Smalley, defense lead Tigers past Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Alli Smalley scored 17 points as Auburn (13-14, 4-10 SEC) held one of the Southeastern Conference’s top offenses to 36 points in a 50-36 victory at Mississippi State (17-10, 8-6 SEC) on Sunday.

The Lady Bulldogs were held to half of their season average of 72.8 points per game.

Auburn led throughout most of the first half and never trailed in the second half, avenging a 73-58 home loss to Mississippi State in the SEC opener.

“There is no question that was a big win today. We have been struggling as of late and I know this team is capable of more than we have played in our last couple games,” said Auburn head coach Nell Fortner. “I am very proud of my team. We will see where we go from here.”

The Auburn defense stepped up, holding Mississippi State to just five field goals in the second half after leading 22-19 at halftime. The Lady Bulldogs, who rank second in the SEC with 7.3 3-pointers per game, were held to just two in the contest.

“I can’t believe we held them to 36 points, because they are a very explosive offensive team,” said Fortner. “I think our defense was disruptive. We played the majority of the game in man defense, we did a lot of switching and did not give them a lot of air to shoot the ball like they are capable of. I thought we were very focused and determined on the defensive end.”

Auburn shot just 36.4 percent from the field, but managed to hold Mississippi State to 28 percent, including 21.7 percent (5-of-23) in the second half.

The Tigers tallied 11 steals in the game, their highest steal total in SEC games, and forced 18 Mississippi State turnovers. Auburn also won despite being out-rebounded 39-35 by MSU, marking the first time this season the Tigers won when losing the rebound battle.

Auburn led by as many as 6 points in the first half, but saw it cut to 3 by halftime. Mississippi State cut the lead to one early in the second half, but the Tigers proceeded to go on a 14-2 run over the next 9 minutes that built their lead into double digits for the first time.

The Tigers led by as many as 16 points with a little more than 8 minutes left to play. The Lady Bulldogs cut the lead to as few as 9 after Mary Kathryn Govero and Chanel Mokango combined for 7 quick points, but Greenleaf responded with a layup of her own and Smalley hammered the nail in the coffin with a running bank shot as the shot clock expired that put the game out of reach.

Senior KeKe Carrier came off the bench to score 12 points in the game.

Freshman Blanche Alverson and redshirt junior Jordan Greenleaf scored 6 points each, while Morgan Toles tallied 5 points along with her game-high six assists.

Greenleaf also led the Auburn defense with four steals in the game.

Carrier’s 12 points gave her 983 on her career, moving her into 27th all-time in career scoring. She also pulled down seven rebounds, moving her into the top 20 all-time at Auburn with 575 career boards.

MSU senior Alexis Rack, playing on the Lady Bulldogs’ Senior Day, was held to just 3 points, 16 short of her season average. Fellow senior Mokango led MSU with 12 points, followed by Govero with 9.

Tysheka Grimes, who did not play against Auburn earlier this season, scored 8 points while pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds.

The Tigers will return to action Thursday as Auburn completes its Mississippi swing with a game at Ole Miss. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. from Tad Smith Coliseum.