Thursday, March 22, 2007

Survive and advance

“Survive and advance” is the name of the game in the college basketball postseason. (In a related story, thanks a lot, Texas A&M Aggies. Jerks. Now my bracket is just a piece of decorative origami. But enough about me...)

“Survive and advance” is exactly what the Auburn women’s basketball team did tonight in Blacksburg, Va. The Tigers will be moving on to the quarterfinals of the WNIT, thanks to an 81-73 win against Virginia Tech.

Just looking at the boxscore, the most impressive thing about the game is the way Auburn was able to neutralize Tech center Nare Diawara. The 6-foot-6 senior is a big part of Virginia Tech’s offense and defense. But Auburn held her to 10 points and four rebounds—below her season averages of 12.3 points and 8.1 boards. That’s especially impressive considering KeKe Carrier, Auburn’s biggest player at 6-foot-7, only played nine minutes.

Forward Alexis Ogubie stepped up big tonight. Ogubie wasn’t a big part of Nell Fortner’s rotation during the regular season: She played double-digit minutes just five times in SEC play. But she played 21 minutes tonight, the most of any of Auburn’s post players. It’s nice to see a veteran—Ogubie’s the only player left from Nell’s first year at Auburn—step up in the clutch.

Another role player who played well was guard Tamela McCorvey, who’s been in a bit of a shooting slump. McCorvey (Montgomery advertiser press magnate Jay G. Tate and I call her “Run TMC,” and you can too) scored 17 and hit three of her four 3-pointers. Not bad.

Of course, DeWanna Bonner’s the big story tonight: She had 27 points and nine rebounds. Nell’s always saying that her sophomores—Bonner, Carrier, point guard Whitney Boddie and wing Sherell Hobbs—are the heart of the team and the future of the program. The sophs sure looked good tonight. Carrier didn’t make much of an impact (her recovery from a foot injury is still a work in progress), but Bonner and Boddie (15 points, seven assists, ZERO turnovers) came up big. Hobbs, who scored a lot in AU’s second-round win against UAB, didn’t do much tonight, but she didn’t need to.

All in all, a nice effort by the Tigers. They’ll play Kansas State in the WNIT quarters. K-State beat IIllinois on Thursday to advance. By the way, KSU drew more than 1,700 to each of its last two WNIT games, so Auburn will be on the road again in the next round.