Thge Lady Tigers were bounced from the SEC tourney in the opening game.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — With 2.1 seconds to go, down by 2 and with any realistic shot at making the NCAA Regional it was hosting on the line, Auburn got the ball to exactly who it wanted to take the last shot.
Alli Smalley, the Tigers’ only senior and one of Auburn’s top scorers of all time, fought through screens, gained an inch on the two Mississippi State defenders that were trailing her, caught the inbounds pass and lofted a 15-footer from the baseline.
But the shot drew rim and caromed off, leaving Smalley to slam her hand on the Bridgestone Arena court in frustration and leaving the Tigers with a surprising 49-47 loss to the Bulldogs in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday night.
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Smalley was honored as the only Senior on the Lady Tigers squad, unfortunatly here 24 were not enough to overcome #20 Kentucky
Auburn’s Senior Day – a de facto Alli Smalley Day, as she was the only Tigers senior to play Sunday – went just about as well as Smalley could have hoped.
She ended the first half hitting nothing but net from 35 feet at the buzzer, sending Auburn into the half up 3 on No. 20 Kentucky, she finished a season-high 24 points and added four more 3-pointers to set her program-record career number at 218.
Only one notable thing turned the day sour: The Tigers couldn’t handle the Wildcats’ frantic defensive pressure in the second half and fell, 76-62, in front of 3,274 fans in the regular-season finale at Auburn Arena.
“I would much rather have the win than the points,” Smalley said. “But we fought hard. Kentucky’s just a tough team.”
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The Auburn ladies drop a heartbreaker to Alabama
Auburn had held Alabama to 1 point over the final 12:01 of the first half Thursday night, forcing the Tide into 18 straight missed shots to end the period and heading into the locker room with a 9-point lead.
Nell Fortner felt like the lead should have been bigger.
“We should have been able to take more advantage of it, and we didn’t,” the Tigers coach said. “I was very concerned about that.”
Fortner was right to be worried, as the Tide shrugged off their frigid end to the first half to rip off a monster run in the second, seizing control and sending the Tigers to a crippling 59-51 loss in front of 3,735 fans at the Auburn Arena.
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Alverson scored a career-high 27 points as Auburn beat Ole Miss, 85-73
Auburn bounced back from its first conference loss of the season with its best offensive performance against an SEC team since the game the Tigers clinched their SEC regular-season title in 2009.
Blanche Alverson torched the nets for a career-high 27 points as Auburn beat Ole Miss, 85-73, in front of 2,277 fans at Auburn Arena on Thursday night.
It was the Tigers’ most points against an SEC opponent since putting up 94 against Arkansas on March 1, 2009, and Alverson’s 27 points were
Auburn’s most by an individual since Alli Smalley’s 29 in last season’s SEC Tournament.
“(Alverson) had some big hits tonight, and she put up some great numbers,” Tigers coach Nell Fortner said. “It opens up a lot of opportunities for other players to get some shots when she puts in baskets like that.
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