DULUTH, Ga.—Nell Fortner likes to think she has a 3-point shooting team, even if the numbers don’t exactly back it up.

The Tigers entered their SEC tournament first-round game with Florida ranked at the bottom in the SEC in 3-pointers made and were just one away from having the fewest attempts. That’s because Auburn has just two active players, Alli Smalley and Blanche Alverson, who have the green light whenever a crevice of space opens on the perimeter – not exactly a frequent occurrence throughout the regular season.

The prologue was irrelevant to Fortner on Thursday, though, as the perimeter came open at the right time for the Tigers, allowing them to extend their season at least one more day.

Smalley and Alverson combined for eight 3-pointers, all of which seemingly came at the perfect time – backbreaking for the Gators—in Auburn’s 74-61 upset victory.

Tenth-seeded Auburn (15-15) will play No. 2 Kentucky (23-6) at 1:30 p.m. in today’s quarterfinals at the Gwinnett Center.

“Those two are dangerous,” Fortner said. “If you start shooting now, I’ll take that.”

Smalley knocked down a season-high five 3’s en route to a career-high 29 points. Alverson, playing in front of a huge group of friends and family, sunk her first two shots and hit a big 3-pointer midway through the second half to finish with 13 points – one shy of her season-high.

The timeliness of their 3’s made the majority of the game one-sided, as the Tigers used an 8-0 run early to extend a lead they would not relinquish. The Gators drew as close as 4 points in the second half – a deficit that lasted all of 17 seconds.

“Alli and Blanche didn’t do things that we didn’t expect for them to do,” Florida coach Amanda Butler said. “They were open, and great shooters knock down open looks when they’re not guarded.”

As the numbers indicate, it wasn’t always that easy during the regular season.

One year after sinking 68 3-pointers while playing alongside the likes of DeWanna Bonner, Whitney Boddie and Sherell Hobbs, Smalley has dealt with excessive pressure inside and outside, the perks of becoming Auburn’s focal point on offense. She came into Thursday’s game tops on Auburn with 15.2 points per game, but just 51 3’s – the result of a modified game that has merited more darting and diving to the hoop and less time hanging out on the perimeter.

So pardon Smalley for smiling a bit after a throwback night of sorts for her, as Florida frequently collapsed to the ball in the paint, allowing her to find some previously unseen open space.

“It was actually really nice,” Smalley said. “I had a lot of open looks, a lot of air.”

Three different theories emerged in the aftermath of Auburn’s best 3-point shooting day against an SEC opponent this season as to why it happened.

Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell, watching the game from press row, said it had to do with the presence of big center KeKe Carrier, who, statistically, had one of her poorer games of the season. Carrier picked up her third foul with 8 minutes to play in the first half and eventually fouled out in the second, finishing with 6 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes.

On the surface, her moments of frustration against a physical Gators’ defense outweighed tangible production, but Mitchell saw otherwise.

“She did exactly what they needed her to do,” Mitchell said. “Today her role was to set up other people. I thought she was extremely effective today and clearly someone we’re very concerned about.”

Smalley heaped the credit to her post-game podium cohort Jordan Greenleaf, who finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Greenleaf’s first priority on offense wasn’t to score, instead setting up Smalley and Alverson with slick backdoor passes or screens.

“When I don’t have the ball, I’m always looking to find where Alli is,” Greenleaf said. “The ball needs to be in her hands.”

Butler placed the blame on her team, which faltered down the stretch, losing six of its last seven games to close out a disappointing year.

“We had much higher hopes than the way we performed today,” Butler said.

Auburn’s hopes of clinching WNIT eligibility rest on today’s game. A win clinches a .500 or better record for the season – a requirement for the now 64-team tournament.

“I’m excited to play them again,” Greenleaf said of Kentucky, which Auburn upset Sunday to close out the regular season.

“I’m excited to play anybody.”