After a rough first half the Auburn women's basketball team beat Presbyterian 64-27 to improve to an 8-3 record on the year.
"We're definitely happy to be 8-3. A win is a win," said head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy after the game. "You look at the first half, and you're not happy with it. You look at the second half, and you see improvements. At the end of the day, you're just happy for the win because we've got some tough games ahead of us. As with most non-conference games, these two are a little bit more of the caliber of teams in the SEC. I really hope this will prepare us as we start SEC play."
At the end of the first half Auburn was only leading Presbyterian 27-15, and had 11 turnovers.
"It was disappointing and embarrassing," said senior forward Tyrese Tanner. "In the second half, I think we picked it up a little bit."
The second half did improve, as the Tigers were able to get control of the turnovers and get some production on the offensive side of the court by going on a 26-5 run.
Williams Flournoy believes the Tigers were not playing full speed in the first half against a Big South Conference school.
"I really thought in the first half we were just going through the motions," Williams-Flournoy said. "I think when you play a team like Presbyterian College you sometimes think that you really don't have to play as aggressive on defense and be in the right position. You think you can just steal the ball and not really play hard. I think they found out that Presbyterian College plays pretty hard, so we had to be in the right position and play tougher on defense in the second half."
The tougher defense in the second half helped the Tigers cruise to the 64-27 final score.
Tanner led the Tigers in scoring with 18 points, while Brandy Montgomery had 11 points of her own.
With the victory the Tigers will now travel to Minneapolis, Minn. to play in The Subway Classic against two tough opponents in UCLA and Minnesota in the final two nonconference games of the season.
Both of these games will be a good test for the Tigers as they prepare for the start of SEC play.
"I think it is very important," Williams-Flournoy said. "You are playing two NCAA-caliber teams on the road which always helps us get ready for our tough SEC opponents on the road as well. We just want to go in and play as well as we can."
The Tigers will take on UCLA Saturday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
