Head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy could only smirk and shake her head when asked what has gotten into junior guard Tyrese Tanner over the last three games.
"It's amazing," Williams-Flournoy said. "I don't know what has come over Tyrese, but I hope it stays with her throughout the rest of the NIT and into her senior year next year. I don't really know what it is, but she's playing with a lot of confidence."
Tanner recorded her first career double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds and led Auburn to a 72-52 win over Tulane to advance to the round of eight in the WNIT.
For the record, Tanner doesn't have any answers as to why she's averaging a scorching 26 points per game in the postseason.
"I don't know," Tanner said. "But I'm glad it happened now. I just want us to keep winning and for us to get a championship."
When Auburn and Tulane met in November in the regular season, the Tigers had to mount a 16-point comeback for a 70-65 win.
This time around, Tulane never had the lead. Auburn jumped out to a 30-25 halftime advantage with a balanced offensive attack. Three players scored at least six points in the first half, led by Tanner's nine.
"I'm very proud of our young ladies," Williams-Flournoy said. "Tulane's a very good team. We knew that they were good. Obviously we had played them before, so we knew how good they were. We knew how well they took care of the ball versus our press."
Auburn's press got the better of Tulane this time, and the Green Wave committed 14 turnovers. Auburn amassed 11 steals, which moves this year's team into first in school history for steals in a single season with 396.
Auburn opened the second half on a 10-2 run to push its lead to 40-27. But Tulane chipped away with a run of its own and cut the Auburn lead to 48-44 with a little more than seven minutes left to play.
"I think we were just trying to be really aggressive at the front," said senior forward Blanche Alverson, who chipped in 10 points and five rebounds. "Our back line was coming up a little too high on the press. We were trying to get steals, and they would send somebody back and get a layup."
With less than seven minutes to play and Auburn up by four, Williams-Flournoy set up a play on offense coming out of a media timeout, but the ball ended up in Najat Ouardad's hands with little time left on the shot clock.
The 5-foot-1 senior guard buried a three as the shot clock sounded and provided Auburn's offense with a much-needed jolt.
"I was already ready to knock it down because I knew it was going to make a big difference so we could get the momentum back," Ouardad said. "I knew it was a big shot, and I knew that I was going to knock it down."
Ouardad's three sparked an 18-4 Auburn run that put the game out of reach and ultimately sealed a victory for the Tigers.
"That was definitely a big shot," Alverson said. "I felt like they were kind of starting to make a run. That was a big shot for her to hit. I think it just sparked us."
Auburn awaits the winner of tomorrow's game between Drexel and Bowling Green. The site of the game has not been determined.
"I feel like we're pretty focused for these next games to come," Tanner said. "And I think that everybody has the drive and are hungry to get this championship."
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