The Tigers improved to 15-8 on the season (5-5 in SEC play) Thursday night, Feb. 4, with a 53-45 win over Vanderbilt University in Auburn Arena.
The game was dominated on the defensive end of the floor as there was a total of 45 turnovers during the game. Auburn won the turnover battle, forcing 29 compared to committing 16. .
“We had 30 turnovers at LSU, so definitely taking care of the ball [was a priority],” Katie Frerking said. “[We had to] slow ourselves down. We play that full court press so we are always getting after it on defense which translates into our offense, and then we keep going too fast. [Tonight] we did a better job slowing down and executing and cutting down from 30 turnovers to 16, that's almost half, so it is a big improvement.”
This was the first time Auburn has beaten Vanderbilt at home since 1999. On top of the turnovers Auburn was also able to hold Vanderbilt to the Commodores' lowest point total on the season.
Brandy Montgomery led all scorers with 16 points and 4 assists on the night. The only other Tiger to reach double figures was Frerking, who poured in 11. Jasmine Jenkins was the leading scorer for Vanderbilt with 13 points.
"Vandy is a very good team and a very good 3-point shooting team, so I thought we did a very good job," Auburn coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "They shot 3-for-17 from the 3-point line, and that was one of our major keys to success. Our ladies did a very good job at contesting their shots and being there on the catch. We forced them into 29 turnovers, which is hard because Vandy has done a very good job this season at taking care of the basketball.”
The Tigers return to action on Sunday, Feb. 7, in Tuscaloosa against the University of Alabama. Auburn is searching for a season sweep of the Tide after beating them at home Jan. 14.
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