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(03/23/14 10:03pm)
The Auburn softball team fell three runs short of completing a series sweep Sunday, falling 5-2 to Southeastern Conference opponent Mississippi State.
After taking down the Bulldogs on Friday and Saturday, a lack of offensive production put an end to the Tigers' aspiration of three straight conference wins.
"We've got to play better," said Auburn head coach Clint Myers. "We got beat by a team that we beat two days in a row."
Myers has stressed that the key to success for his team is having good pitching, good defense, and timely hitting.
"Those just didn't take place in the same category they did in the first two games," Myers said.
On the day, the tigers managed only three hits, one of which was a solo homerun by Branndi Melero in the bottom of the second inning.
The Tigers' other run would come from of Kasey Cooper, who singled in the bottom of the third to score Emily Carosone.
Mississippi State took the lead for good in the top of fifth inning, off a three-run homer from catcher Sam Lenahan.
The Bulldogs would add one more run in top of the 6th inning, after starting Auburn pitcher Lexi Davis walked Lenahan with the bases loaded.
Davis took the loss for the Tigers, giving her a 14-5 mark on the season.
"Lexi pitched pretty well," Myers said. "But hey, when you're in the SEC, it's got to be better than pretty well."
The loss drops the Tigers to 28-5-1 overall on the season, with a 4-2 mark in SEC play.
Auburn will take on Georgia State on Thursday before heading to Kentucky to face the Wildcats in a weekend series.
The next home series for the Tigers will be April 1-3 against Missouri.
(03/21/14 7:30pm)
The NFL draft is quickly approaching, and teams everywhere are constantly scrutinizing on which player they think can either turn their franchise around or help continue their success.
Without a doubt, the most talked about player in the upcoming class is former Texas A&M quarterback, 2012 Heisman winner Johnny Manziel.
That, for the most part, is due to his style of play, but also has a lot to do with his near celebrity status.
Let me start by saying that I love mobile quarterbacks. They are an absolute blast to watch and a real treat for football fans who love offense.
Quarterbacks who can run like a wide receiver are the biggest of defensive headaches on a college football field, but that doesn't mean Nick Marshall is the next Peyton Manning.
I don't think Manziel is either.
To back this up, take a look at some of the recent running QBs who took a shot at the bigs.
When you think about running quarterbacks, you most likely immediately think of Michael Vick.
Vick was a trailblazer for mobile quarterbacks everywhere, and he certainly saw substantial success in Atlanta running around making defenses look incredibly confused before he went to jail.
Where is Vick now? He's riding the bench behind Nick Foles, who looks like he's the got the starting job in Philly locked up for a while.
Next, there's Vince Young.
In college, Young was the engineer of what was the greatest pre-2013 Iron Bowl college football game of all time, a 41-38 win over Reggie Bush and USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl for the BCS National Championship.
During his time at Texas, Young ran through defenses as if they weren't even there. NFL scouts salivated as they thought they had discovered the next Vick.
Like Vick, after he was drafted third overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2006 draft, Young saw some success, but it was limited.
Sure, he won some games and was even named to the Pro Bowl following his rookie season, but two years later, he suffered a season ending injury and watched from the sidelines as career-backup Kerry Collins led the Titans to a 13-3 record.
Young remained on the bench the following season and he was gone by 2010. He's out of the league now and probably won't be coming back anytime soon.
There's plenty of other examples, such as Tim Tebow of Florida and Matt Jones of Arkansas.
Of course there are success stories like Auburn's own Cam Newton, but Newton is a once-in-a-generation athlete.
I'm not saying for certain that Manziel won't pan out in the NFL. I'm just saying it's not likely.
One of my biggest reasons for my hesitance to be sold on Manziel is his tendency to throw a ball up for grabs.
There have been plenty of times where Manziel, in a scrambling situation, will just launch the ball into the air, hoping some Aggie will come down with it. You can't do that in the NFL; just ask Brett Favre, the league's career leader in interceptions.
As far as the character issue everyone loves to harp on so much, I don't see it as an issue.
If you really think about it, Manziel is doing the same sort of things any college student would do. He's just doing it on an exponentially larger budget.
I think Manziel can be a decent NFL player, but I don't see him as a top 10, or even first round pick.
If I'm an NFL general manager, I'd take Manziel in the third or fourth round. Put him on the Aaron Rogers system. Let him learn from your starter for a few years, and then when it's his time, he'll be ready.
(03/07/14 4:35am)
The Auburn women's basketball team will move on to the next round of the Southeastern Conference tournament for the first time since 2010.
Thursday night, the Tigers avenged their season closing 73-71 overtime loss to 14-seed Ole Miss with a 70-54 win over the rebels.
"I'm just really proud of my team," said senior guard Tyrese Tanner. "We stayed focused the whole game, stuck to our game plan, and we got the win."
Tanner was the second leading scorer for the Tigers with 16 points, while her sister, Tra'cee Tanner, led the Tigers with 17.
"We emphasized getting the ball inside," Tra'cee said. "That's what we did today, and that's what helped us win the ball game."
In the first half, the Tigers shot 46 percent, good enough to give them one point at the break.
In the second, Auburn shot just 27 percent, but managed to outscore the Rebels by 15.
"I thought we did a better job in the second half getting to the free-throw line," said Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "In the first half, we kind of messed up our game plan a little bit."
Williams-Flournoy deferred a question about the difference between this game and the one the tigers lost to her players.
"We attacked the basket a lot more," Tra'cee said. "We finished at the basket."
Tyrese said it was a matter of intensity.
"We just played harder this game," Tanner said. "I thought at Ole Miss we didn't play hard. This game we played both halves hard and we got the win."
The Tanner sisters also said that the team was excited to get another shot at the Rebels.
"We redefined ourselves from how we played Sunday," Tra'cee said. "Today we were a lot more hungry."
Tyrese agreed.
"It was good we got to play Ole Miss again," Tyrese said. "We got show who we really were."
In a quick turnaround, the Tigers will face off against Texas A&M Friday at 7:30 p.m.
"You really try not to focus so much on the other team," Williams-Flournoy said. "You just don't have much time to prepare for it."
(03/04/14 9:17pm)
Three Auburn women's basketball players received SEC honors Tuesday, ahead of the team's hunt for the SEC Championship in Duluth, Ga.
Tyrese Tanner was named to the First Team All-SEC women's basketball team.
Tanner, who led the Tigers in scoring for the third consecutive year, was the third overall scorer in the Southeastern Conference, averaging 17 points per game.
"I am very proud of Tyrese and the work she has put in this season," said head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "She has matured so much this season and this award is well deserved."
Along with Tanner, two other Tigers received conference honors.
Guard Brandy Montgomery was named to the All-Freshman team, while junior guard Hasina Muhammad was selected for the conference All-Defense team, as was Tanner.
"It's great to have two players represented for defense," Williams-Flournoy said. "We are a defensive team, so it should be that way. Defense is what we focus on and what we stress as the way we'll win ballgames"
Muhammad led the league with 2.7 steals per game and ranks fourth with 2.0 blocks per game. Tanner averaged 1.8 steals, 1.2 blocks and 6.3 rebounds per game.
Montgomery was the second leading scorer for the tigers on the year, averaging 11 points per game in 27 starts. The freshman notched two twenty point performances on the season, and recorded her first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the final game of the season, a 73-71 overtime loss to last place Ole Miss in Oxford.
Tanner will lead the Tigers into the SEC tournament in Duluth, Ga. on March 6, where they will play the winner of No. 11 seed Arkansas vs. No. 14 seed Ole Miss.
Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
(02/27/14 3:45pm)
It has been a season full of potential wins without finishes for the Auburn women's basketball team.
Whether it was being cold in the first half, surging back and coming up just short in the second, or playing lights out in the first, and then completely falling apart in the second, the Tigers have left more than a few potential victories out of the win column this season.
On Jan. 12, against then-No.10 South Carolina, Auburn led by as many as 12 in the first half, but saw that lead slowly slip away, as the Gamecocks snuck out of Auburn Arena with a 72-66 win.
In that game, similar to many other games for the Tigers, Auburn's key players had trouble staying on the floor, committing enough fouls to give South Carolina 23 points from the free-throw line.
"That's a lot of points," said Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Fluornoy. "We out rebounded them. We turned them over 20 times. The difference is at the free-throw line."
Just a week later, Auburn would once again mount a double-digit first-half home lead over the No. 10 team in the country, only to see it surmounted.
This time around, it was the Kentucky Wildcats that handed the Tigers the crushing defeat.
Auburn led by as many as 13 against the Wildcats and had a chance for a winning basket on the game's final possession, but was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer.
"It should have never come to that," said senior center Peyton Davis.
That loss was the first in what would become a four-game losing streak that included a 18-point loss to Florida in Gainesville and a 71-54 home loss to Texas A&M.
The Tigers played what was perhaps their worst half of the season in the first 20 minutes against Missouri on Feb. 16, scoring only 14 points and allowing 42.
Led by senior forward Tyrese Tanner, the Tigers made a valiant effort at a comeback that ultimately fell short, losing to Missouri by a final of 68-58.
These what-could-have-been losses have the Tigers two games under .500 in the Southeastern Conference with two games left to go.
But the Tigers rebounded from their close losses on Senior Day, Sunday, Feb. 23, by defeating rival Georgia with solid free-throw shooting and defense down the stretch.
"Defensive always wins games, and we can convert it to our offense," Tanner said. "If we don't play defensively then we can't play offensively. In this game, we really stepped it up with our steals, our press and our forcing them to turn it over. We just attacked the basket and went hard in the second half."
Auburn will now face Alabama, who it beat earlier in the season by a score of 61-39, on Feb. 27, and finish off the season with a trip to Oxford to face Ole Miss, a team that currently boasts a league-worst 1-13 record in conference play.
The Tigers need to win these two games and would likely need to win the SEC Tournament to receive a bid to the Women's NCAA Tournament. If they cannot win the conference tournament, they will probably need a strong showing to make it back to the Women's NIT.
"We've got two more games to win," Williams-Flournoy said. "It started with three with Georgia, now we are down to two. Then we will worry about [the postseason]."
The SEC Tournament will be held in Duluth, Ga., on March 5-9.
(02/27/14 2:16am)
The Auburn softball team was handed its second loss of the season Wednesday, a 5-4 defeat at the hands of the No. 9 Florida State Seminoles.
Auburn, who was playing its first game as a ranked team after a 13-1-1 start to the season, started slow against the Seminoles, and were never able to fully recover.
"We had chances to win the ball game," said Auburn head coach Clint Myers. "We hit the ball pretty hard."
Both teams had 4-run innings, Florida State's coming in the second, Auburn's the fifth.
Prior to that inning, the tigers had yet to record a hit.
"This is a young team," Myers said. "We're not gonna make excuses."
Auburn's first hit, the one that sparked the almost-comeback, was a homerun to right field by Jenna Abbot, her third homerun in what was only her sixth at-bat of the season.
The decisive run for Florida State came in the third inning, when left fielder Ellie Cooper singled to drive home Lauren Harris.
In the home-half of sixth inning, Auburn had its first of two late chances to end the game.
After pinch-hitter Ashley Leon struck out to lead off the inning, Abbot singled up the middle.
Auburn's next batter, shortstop Kelsey Bogaards went up 3-0 in the count, before fouling off four consecutive pitches then finally drawing a walk on the tenth pitch of the at-bat .
Pinch-hitter Austyn West stepped in and singled to left field, loading the bases for Pre-Season All-SEC infielder Emily Carosone.
On the very first pitch, Carosone lined out to the second basemen, who threw pinch-runner Tiffany Howard at first to end the inning.
The Seminoles went three up, three down in the top of the 7th, and in the bottom half, the Tigers would again set up a chance to win, but come up just short.
Morgan Estell and Kasey Cooper recorded two quick outs before right fielder Branndi Melero singled to third on an 0-2 count.
Then catcher McKenzie Kilpatrick nearly won it in walk-off fashion for Auburn.
Kilpatrick hit a towering ball straight to center that hovered over the warning track just before coming to rest in the glove of seminole centerfielder Courtney Senas, about a foot from the back wall.
"I'm not disappointed," Myers said. "We fought, we didn't make an error, we didn't beat ourselves."
The loss drops the tigers to an overall record of 13-2-1.
"We we're one hit away from winning this ball game," Myers said.
Myers said that aside from wins and losses, the main focus of the team is to learn how to get better.
"We tell them every day, that two things are going to happen," Myers said. "Either you're gonna get better or you're gonna get worse, and I think we got better tonight."
After playing their last 15 games at home, the tigers will head to Kissimmee. Fla. on Friday to take on Oregon in their first matchup of the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic.
(02/19/14 2:55pm)
Before I did a lot of things in my life, I attended my first baseball game.
In fact, before I even spoke my first word, I had seen the Chicago Cubs play at Wrigley Field.
I marked that off of my bucket list before I even knew what a bucket list was.
Or a bucket.
Or a list.
I'm not one to encourage taking infants to public events such as a baseball game, nor are my parents, but I thank them for breaking that rule that day in Chicago.
Now that I do know what a bucket list is, I keep one mentally and it has a lot to do with baseball.
My father, brother and I are all on a mission to see a game in all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums.
I can't give you an exact date on when this goal was set for all three of us, but I suppose you could say it was when my father fell in love for the first time. Not with my mother, but with the Houston Astros.
When he was a child, my dad visited the Astrodome for the first time with his father and brother.
From that moment forward, he became not only an Astros fan, but a diehard baseball fan.
Listening to him talk about that first visit to the supposed Eighth Wonder of the World is something I'll never tire of.
Last year when the powers that be in Houston decided to do away with the Astrodome, my father wrote a column on his memory of it, and the auctioning off of parts of the stadium that were going up for sale.
I told a friend of mine I was scouring the internet trying to find a piece of the stadium to get him for Christmas, to which she responded, "Why? That seems kind of dumb."
"You should hear him talk about that place," I told her.
That convinced her.
So, from the time my father was young, he was hooked.
It took some convincing for me.
When I was young, my sports interest was small, but like anyone who has a big brother, I wanted to be just like mine, and still do.
Like my father, my brother has taught me an incredible amount in my life, not the least of which is a love for sports.
For all three of us, baseball is a bond that will never break.
As I said before, we're all trying to get to all 30 MLB parks before we die.
But it's not really a race. We aren't in a rush. We're savoring every hot dog, smelling every blade of grass and screaming off baseball cliches one park at a time.
For as long as I can remember, when my mother would start pitching destinations for a family vacation, one of the three of us would immediately ask, "Is there a baseball park we haven't been to nearby?"
My mother and sister both roll their eyes at this, but they secretly enjoy it.
All three of us have been to parks that the others haven't.
In fact, in the spring of 2009, the three of us and my mother had a trip planned to Boston for a week, during which we would attend Opening Day at Fenway Park.
My dad caught a terrible virus and wasn't able to go.
It turned out to be one of my favorite ball parks I've visited, and one of my favorite vacations during my lifetime. But whenever I think about it, I regret so much that I wasn't able to share it with my dad.
Fenway is a mecca of baseball, and I hope I can experience it with him one day.
My brother and I have both been to parks with friends, or with just my dad, but there's nothing comparable to when all three of us are there together, crossing another one off the list.
The joy it brings my father to have both of us there with him shines vibrantly on his face, and is mirrored on both mine and my brother's.
My dad called me a few days ago saying he had something to tell me.
Usually when a parent says that, it isn't an exorbitantly jubilant phone call, but this time, exorbitantly jubilant would be an understatement.
He told me he is in the planning stages of a trip over the Fourth of July holiday weekend this summer, in which all three of us would knock three stadiums off the list; Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburg.
"I know you don't know where you'll be yet this summer, but I hope you can come," he said, knowing it was a useless exercise of fatherly duty to plant the foolish idea in my head that whatever tedious job I'll be doing this summer could keep me from going on a trip that's been in development for years.
There is nothing in the world that could stop me from going on that trip. Nothing.
We all have different total numbers, but, like I said, it isn't really a race.
None of us are rushing to finish before the two others.
We've often talked about the day when we'll cross the turnstile of our final park.
Should that be at the same time for all of us, it will be indescribable feeling.
There will be thousands of people surrounding us, but I won't see them.
I'll see only my dad and brother, two men who have both taught me so much, handing in ticket number 30.
Should that moment come, I know I'll never forget it, and one day, perhaps I'll tell my son and his brother that story about our final turnstile crossing, as vividly and passionately as my father told my brother and I about his first.
(02/16/14 11:31pm)
The Auburn women's basketball team ended its three-game winning streak Sunday with a 68-58 loss at the hands of the Missouri Tigers.
In what was their worst first half of play all year, Auburn shot 21 percent from the field, combined with a 1-10 mark from behind the 3-point line.
"I don't think we were ready to play today," said senior forward Tyrese Tanner. "[The first half] killed us, it made us play catchup."
At the break, Missouri led 42-14, after sinking eight threes and shooting almost 50 percent from the field.
"Missouri is a very good three-point shooting team," said Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "That's what the whole scouting report was, that's who they are."
Williams-Flournoy expressed her dissatisfaction with the team's performance and was confused as to why they would come out so slow.
"I don't know why they would come out and look as bad as they did, knowing the opportunity that was right there, for us to get .500 in the league," Williams-Flournoy said.
Tanner, Auburn's leading scorer, sat much of the first half due to foul trouble, and made no baskets during the first twenty minutes.
"That's getting real old," Williams-Flournoy said. "That story has been told 300 times now. She's got to stop getting in foul trouble."
As she has many times this season after a cold start, Tanner came out hot in the second half, and attempted to lead an Auburn comeback that would eventually fall short, as Auburn was never able to get it back to being a one-possession game.
Tanner would finish with 22 points, all in the second 20 minutes.
"I don't really have an explanation for that," Tanner said. "I just need to bring it both halves."
Underneath the basket, Missouri dominated Auburn throughout the game, outrebounding them by a total of 47-31.
"Missouri was hungrier," Williams-Flournoy said. "I don't remember the last time we were outrebounded by that much."
Auburn outscored Missouri 44-26 in the second half, but the poor play on both sides of the ball in the first period set the tigers to far back.
"Forty-two points in the first half is unacceptable, our defense isn't taught like that," Tanner said. "We weren't making shots and layups on the other end. We couldn't get in our press because we kept missing."
On a day where three of the greatest teams in the program's history were honored at halftime, current members of the team said it was embarrassing for those past players to see them play so poorly.
"It's embarrassing for those former players, former Olympians and former All-Americans to watch this," Williams-Flournoy said. "That's an embarrassment to have Auburn on."
The loss dropped Auburn to 14-11 overall, with a 5-7 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
"We were trying to get up in the rankings and this definitely knocked us back down," said sophomore forward Tra'cee Tanner. "This was definitely a game that needed to be won."
Auburn will take on the No. 8 ranked Lady Vols of Tennessee Thursday in Knoxville, before returning home next Sunday to face Georgia.
(02/16/14 3:29am)
The Auburn softball team continued its winning ways Saturday, winning both games of a twin bill on Day Two of the Tiger Invitational at Jane B. Moore Field.
Outstanding pitching was the story of both games, as both Tiger starters tossed full games and recorded career highs in strikeouts.
Sophomore Marcy Harper recorded 11 strikeouts in a 4-2 win against the University of Nebraska-Omaha, while fellow sophomore Lexi Davis recorded nine in her complete-game shutout performance in a 6-0 win against Western Illinois.
"That's the best that out pitchers have looked," said Auburn head coach Clint Myers. "If they hit their spots and do everything that we talk about in practice, some good things can happen."
Auburn trailed for much of the first game, but took the lead 2-3 in the top of the fifth inning, and would add one more run in the top of the seventh to win 4-2.
Myers credited the defense for both wins.
"We've said all along that this was going to be a good defensive club," Myers said. "Every day you either get better or you get worse."
Though the team looked good on defense, the offense put on a show of its own in game two, and took full advantage of Western Illinois mistakes.
The Tigers plated six runs in just three hits, but drew five walks and were smart on the base paths.
"Today we got better," Myers said.
The win moves the Tigers to 8-1-1 overall on the year.
With a game against Winthrop tomorrow, the Tigers will attempt to go 5-0 for the weekend, and extend their current winning streak to six.
(02/13/14 1:15pm)
With just six games left in the regular season, the Auburn women’s basketball team knows what lies ahead of them. After a home win against Mississippi State on Feb. 9, the Tigers are entering the final stretch of the season with a 13-10 overall record. With a 4-6 mark in the Southeastern Conference, Auburn holds the ninth spot in the latest league standings. Auburn will play three of their last six games at home, and senior guard Tyrese Tanner said the team knows they need to finish strong.“Our practices leading up to the games, we have to be really focused,” Tanner said. “If we have bad practices, we have bad games, but if we have good practice then we have good games.“The Tigers are currently on a two-game winning streak that started when the team snapped a four-game losing streak at Arkansas on Feb. 9.“Now we’re about to make a run,” Tanner said.For that run to happen, Tanner will have to be at the top of her game, because, for the most part, as goes Tanner, so go the Tigers.“She is their leader,” said Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. “They feel comfortable when Tyrese is playing well.”In both games of the Tigers’ current winning streak, Tanner has been the team’s leading scorer, putting up 13 points against Arkansas and 21 against Mississippi State. According to Williams-Flournoy, Tanner’s leadership isn’t just limited to the offensive side of the ball.“When she does score, it makes everyone else feel even better on the defensive end,” Williams-Flournoy said.Defense, Williams-Flournoy said, is what it’s going to take to make that down-the-stretch run the Tigers need.“We have to realize that it’s our defense that’s going to win games for us,” Williams-Flournoy said. “When the ball leaves your hand [to take a shot] it’s 50-50, but defense is nothing but effort and heart.”The last two games, Auburn has held their opponents to under 50 points, after allowing over 70 in each game of the four-game skid, including the highest point total the Tigers have allowed all season, 87, in an 18-point loss to Florida in Gainesville.“Our team philosophy is defense, we get a lot of energy off the defense,” said junior Hasina Muhammad. “Once we get one steal, we just got to get another. Obviously it’s a lot easier to score in transition rather than setting up a play.”Williams-Flournoy reiterated the importance of the Tigers’ ability to create turnovers.“That’s what we do. That’s the way our press is designed,” Williams-Flournoy said. “We want to cause havoc; we want to make the game as ugly as possible.”The Mississippi State win was the first home SEC victory for Auburn, and they are hoping to build on that as the season comes to a close and the SEC Tournament nears.“We knew we needed to win to win at home to feel better there,” Williams-Flournoy said. “We also needed to win for SEC standings.”Williams-Flournoy added that this late in the season, it doesn’t matter what other teams in the league are doing.“We have to understand where we are,” Williams-Flournoy said. “It’s not so much what everyone else does at this point. It’s all about what Auburn does, and we need to continue to do well.”Auburn’s last game before the start of the SEC tournament will be against Ole Miss, who currently holds a 1-10 record in SEC play. The SEC Tournament will be from March 5-9, with games being played in the Arena at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga.
(02/09/14 11:35pm)
The Auburn women's basketball team recorded its first home Southeastern Conference win in Auburn Arena Sunday, a 51-43 decision over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
"We got that monkey off our back," said Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy, who called the game a "very much needed win."
Auburn struggled in the first half, shooting just over 30 percent, but found themselves down by just eight points to the bulldogs at the halfway point.
"We played as bad as we could in the first half," Williams-Flournoy said. " But when you've got a player like Tyrese Tanner that juts puts the team on her back...that's a pretty good player right there."
Tanner, like the rest of the Tigers, struggled in the first half and was only able to put up four points in the first twenty minutes.
"I think right at the beginning at the game we missed five layups," Williams-Flournoy said.
Tanner said that the team realized it was playing to win instead of "playing to have fun."
"I was a little rusty in the first half," Tanner said. "Coach Walters talked to me during halftime and told me just to play and relax."
Tanner had 17 points in the second half, and was the only Tiger to score in the double-digits.
"I was really tired," Tanner said. "But when you're making a run on a team, you feel good."
As Tanner's game improved in the second half, the team's did as well.
"We depend on Ty," said junior guard Hasina Muhammad. "Whenever she's having a good game, then usually we're playing pretty good."
Williams-Flournoy reiterated the notion that as goes Tanner, so go the Tigers.
"She is their leader," Williams-Flournoy said. "They feel comfortable when Tyrese is playing well."
Williams-Flournoy added that Tanner's scoring gives the tigers more confidence on the defensive side of the ball.
"Brandy Montgomery had four steals," Williams-Flournoy said. "I doubt Brandy has had four steals in her career at Auburn."
The Tigers played well defensively throughout the game, holding the bulldogs to their second lowest point total of the season, and creating 27 turnovers with 20 steals.
"It's our philosophy to force teams into turnovers," Williams-Flournoy said. "We want to cause havoc, we want to make the game as ugly as it can be. "
The low-scoring affair was the second straight SEC win for the Tigers, coming one week after a 56-48 win at Arkansas.
With just six games to go, the Tigers head to Nashville on Thursday to take on Vanderbilt.
"These next two practices, we have to be ready to play," Tanner said. "We can take Vanderbilt at their house."
The team will return home next Sunday to take on the visiting Missouri Tigers.
(02/09/14 4:00am)
The Auburn softball team remained undefeated Saturday, winning both games in a double-header on Day Two of the Plainsman Invitational.
Though both games were played at Jane Moore Field, the Tigers were the visiting team in Game 1, a 12-0 thrashing of Morehead State that was called after five innings in cooperation with the run rule.
Auburn followed it up with a 8-2 win in Game 2 against Louisiana-Monroe.
The winning pitcher in Game 1 was sophomore Marcy Harper, who pitched three innings without allowing a single hit with four walks.
Senior Hilary Mavromat came in to relieve Harper in the fourth, and allowed only one hit in two innings of work while striking out three.
"I thought Marcy threw well," said first-year head coach Clint Myers. "And Hilary definitely came in and did her job."
At the plate, Auburn recorded 12 runs on 11 hits in 26 total at-bats, including a 3-run home run from Southeastern Conference Preseason All-Conference Team selection Morgan Estell in the first inning to give the tigers an early 4-0 lead that would never be challenged.
Estell finished game with two hits on two at-bats, with three runs.
Early on in game two, it was a different story for Auburn.
After not surrendering a hit until the fourth inning in game one, it only took one batter to record the first hit for Louisiana Monroe.
Starting pitcher Lexi Davis retired the next three batters and got out of the inning without surrendering a run.
The tigers were able to take the lead in the first inning once again, this time by manufacturing a run by way of a hit-by-pitch, a fielder's choice, and finally a single by freshman Kasey Cooper that sent Estell home.
ULM tied it at one in the top of the second, only to see Auburn put up two more runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Both teams went scoreless in the third, but Auburn blew the game open in the bottom of the fourth.
Kelsey Bogaards and Tiffany Howard scored runs on two separate passed balls to start the inning.
Then, junior Branndi Melero put the game out of reach.
With two tigers on base, Melero hit what would have likely been a single to center field, but was able to advance to second when ULM centerfielder Mackenzie Miller overran the ball.
Melero then moved up another 90 feet to third on a throwing error by second baseman Navarette Miyuki and was given the wave-around to try and score. Melero beat the throw and put Auburn up 8-2.
Auburn would add one more run, a solo homer by Bogaards in the fifth, and win their second game of the day 9-2.
Davis pitched a complete game for the Tigers, letting up five hits in seven innings while striking out seven and surrendering just one walk.
"We're starting to understand the concept of consistency," Myers said. "We're taking our plan and we're working hard to execute it."
In the two games combined, Auburn had 21 runs on 18 hits in 52 total at-bats.
"We had a stretch in there where we left on and the zeroes were on the board," Myers said. "But when we discipline and do things that we talk about daily some good things happen."
The two wins move Auburn to 3-0-1 overall heading into the final day of the Invitational.
(02/09/14 4:10am)
Auburn football signee Kalvaraz Bessent was arrested early Saturday morning in Nassau County, Fla. according to online records.
Bessent, a 4-star cornerback from St. Mary's, Ga., was a former Alabama commitment who flipped to Auburn in December and signed his letter of intent Wednesday.
According to Nassau County sheriff Bill Leeper, the 2007 Dodge Charger Bessent was riding in was pulled over by a deputy sheriff Friday night at 10 p.m. for going 58 miles-per-hour in a 45 mile-per-hour zone on US Highway 1.
"Upon approaching the vehicle, there was a strong odor of burnt marijuana," Leeper said. "A search was conducted and 202.5 grams of marijuana was found under the front seat and driver's seat in four separate bags."
According to Leeper, all four people in the car refused to admit ownership of the drugs, so all four were arrested on three separate charges.
The charges were one count of possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, and, according to Leeper, because of the way the marijuana was packaged, one count of intent to distribute.
Bail for the possession of the marijuana and the intent to distribute was set at $2,502, while the paraphernalia charge added another $502, a combined total of $5,506.
A Jacksonville man named Elbert Thornton was driving the car at the time the stop was made, but Leeper said he doesn't know who the car belongs to.
Bessent's arraignment is set for Feb. 27.
According to a team spokesman, Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn "is aware of the situation and is continuing to gather information."
Updates to come when they are made available.
(02/04/14 8:07pm)
Tyrese and Tra'cee Tanner aren't your average sisters.
At 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-3, respectively, both girls have become keys to the success of the Auburn women's basketball team.
"It's pretty fun," Tyrese said about having her younger sister with her on the court. "But it can be challenging at the same time."
Tyrese said the challenges of having a sibling on a college basketball team are the same as just having a sibling at home.
"We fuss at each other in practice, but it's just like your fussing at a teammate," Tyrese said.
Individually, Tyrese, a senior, and Tra'cee, a sophomore, are both having great seasons.
Tyrese has had four 20-point games, one of which came against then No.10 Kentucky on Jan. 19 when she put up an in-conference career high of 28.
"I was definitely proud of her," Tra'cee said. "Kentucky has this reputation of being a great scoring program, so for her to be able to do that, to come out and show people who she really is, I feel like that's great for her."
Tra'cee has been scoring in bunches as well, putting up 15 points of her own against Kentucky, and Florida.
"This year has really been a good year for her," Tyrese said. "I'm glad she came to play on the team."
But for all those individual performances, the team itself has little to show.
Two times this season, against then No. 10 South Carolina, and then No.10 Kentucky, Auburn has mounted a substantial lead early in the first half, only to see it be wiped out by halftime.
"It's the lack of focus in the second half," Tyrese said. "You get up so much, and you think we've got it in the bag, but the team doesn't lie down."
A large part of the problem for the Tigers in those losses to Top 10 opponents, as well as other defeats on the season, has been players not being able to stay in the games when they need to due to foul trouble.
The Tanner sisters have been in the midst of Auburn's late-game foul trouble for several key games this season.
Tyrese fouled out against Florida with 3:40 left in the second half, while Tra'cee fouled out against Kentucky after scoring 15 points in just 17 minutes.
"Just imagine what she could have done had she been able to stay in the game," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said after the home loss to Kentucky.
Tyrese said the way Auburn plays defense is aggressive, and that gets them into trouble sometimes.
"Sometimes we get over aggressive," Tyrese said. "We want the ball so bad, and sometimes we go the wrong way to get it."
Both Tanner sisters are fierce competitors.
As sisters on the same college basketball team, they said their sibling rivalry is amplified that much more.
"Me and my sister are competitive in every aspect of our life," Tra'cee said. "That's kind of how we were raised."
Tyrese said since the two started playing together at Auburn, it's become more about the team than the sisters competing against one another.
"Growing up, it was who could do something first or who was the best at something." Tyrese said. "Now we're both competitive together. We want to win. It's about who scores the most points."
Both sisters said they will cherish the opportunity they had to play alongside each other.
"Not many people can say they had the opportunity to do that," Tra'cee said. "To have somebody there for you at all times is great."
"We've had some good times and some bad times," Tyrese said. "I'll miss it."
(02/02/14 11:45pm)
The Auburn women's basketball team got back on track Sunday, snapping a four-game losing streak with a 56-48 win against Arkansas in Fayetville.
Senior forward Tyrese Tanner was the tigers leading scorer with a total of 13 points, with 7 coming from the free-throw line.
The Auburn bench stepped up in a big way, contributing 23 points while both Tanner sisters were in foul trouble.
The first half was close most of the way, but Auburn found itself on the wrong side of 27-20 score at the break.
Auburn tied the game at 46 with 2:30 left in the game on two Tyrese Tanner free throws, then took the lead at 48-46 less than a minute later at the 1:52 mark.
Arkansas would score their last bucket of the game on the next possession, tying the game, but Auburn would end the game on an 8-0 run, sparked by a Khady Dieng three.
Dieng, a freshman guard came off the bench and contributed 10 points, the second-most points for the tigers, and only player other than Tanner to reach double digits for Auburn,
The win moved Auburn to a 12-10 overall record, with a 3-6 mark in Southeastern Conference play with seven games left for the season.
The tigers will face off against the Mississippi State Bulldogs next Sunday in Auburn Arena, then head to Nashville on Feb. 13 to take on Vanderbilt.
(01/26/14 11:13pm)
The Auburn women's basketball team suffered its third straight Southeastern Conference loss Sunday, an 87-69 defeat at hands of the Florida Gators.
The Tigers kept it close through most of the first half, but found themselves down by 7 at the break in Gainesville.
All told, Auburn went 26-of-64 from the field and was outscored by the Gators 46-35 in the second half.
The loss is conference defeat number five on the season for the Tigers, dropping them to 11-9 overall on the season with a 2-5 record in conference play.
All five Auburn starters scored in the double-digits, but the Auburn bench contributed only four points.
Freshman guard Brandy Montgomery led the Tigers with 16 points, with Tra'cee Tanner adding 15 of her own.
Senior forward Tyrese Tanner, a top scorer for Auburn, shot just 5-for-14 from the field and contributed 11 points before fouling out at the 3:40 mark of the second half.
Fouls and turnovers plagued the Tigers all day. The team committed 23 total fouls and turned the ball over 22 times.
Florida capitalized on the Auburn fouling, converting on 21 of 26 free throw attempts. Auburn had 26 free throw attempts as well, but only made 13.
The Gators shot 46 percent from the field and made eight threes on the way to the 18-point route.
It was the fourth SEC win for Florida, giving them a 4-3 record in conference play, with a 14-6 overall record.
After losses in Baton Rouge and Gainesville this week, the Tigers will return home to try end their conference losing streak against Texas A&M on Thursday, before heading to Arkansas next Sunday, with just 9 games left on the schedule before SEC Tournament play begins in Duluth, Ga.
(01/24/14 7:47pm)
When it comes to legacies for NFL quarterbacks, there's no measuring stick used more by critics than championships.
Dan Marino, a hall of famer and nine-time Pro Bowl selection who holds more than seven NFL passing records, often has his stellar career accomplishments overlooked by writers and analysts, who choose instead to focus on the fact that Marino was never able to win a Super Bowl.
In what are most likely the last years of his career, Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning could be headed toward an endless reel of Marino references. Manning, 1-1 in Super Bowls, has a chance to get a second ring on Feb. 2, and, depending on what happens in that game, the media will discuss one of two things.
Should the Broncos lose, they'll talk about Manning not being able to win big games. If the Broncos win, they'll debate whether he's the greatest quarterback to ever play the game.
No matter what happens come Super Bowl Sunday, the book on Manning's legacy has already been written. He is one of, if not the, greatest quarterbacks to ever play football. The stats alone are enough to make this argument; the 13 Pro Bowl selections, the 4 Most Valuable Player awards, the myriad of NFL passing records etc... Manning's resume is as impressive of any other QB who has ever put on a helmet.
What is often overlooked, however, is that Manning has single-handedly pulled two dying NFL franchises from the depths of the grave over the course of his career.
When he was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts number one overall in 1998, they were coming off an embarrassing 3-13 season. By his second year in the league, Manning had led the Colts to a 13-3 regular season record and a division title.
In 2006, Manning led Indianapolis to a 12-4 regular season record, marking the fourth-straight season the Colts had won at least 12 games. That was the year Manning won his first Super Bowl, which was also the first win for the Colts franchise.
In 2011, Manning, who had not missed a start since his rookie year in 1998, underwent two neck surgeries and had to sit out the entire season. Manning was released by the Colts in March of 2012, but was signed by the Broncos just 13 days later.
Before 2013, the Broncos had just one playoff win since 2005. Now, Manning has them playing for the franchise's first Super Bowl since 1998.
Championships are the pinnacle of any sport. Manning has been there, and will probably get there again. But, I really don't think Peyton Manning has much left to prove.
(01/19/14 10:56pm)
For the second time in a week, the Auburn women's basketball team was unable to finish against the No. 10 team in the country.
This time around, it was Kentucky who erased a big Auburn first-half lead, and handed the Tigers their third Southeastern Conference loss of the season by a score of 73-71.
Auburn had a chance for a final basket to send the game to overtime, but was unable to get a shot off.
Off a Kentucky missed free throw, senior forward Tyrese Tanner attempted to get the ball to an open Katie Frerking to try and tie the game.
"I saw she was open, but my pass was too high," Tanner said. "I probably should have kept it, but I saw her wide open, it just didn't get there."
"It should have never come to that though," said senior center Peyton Davis. "We gave up three offensive rebounds before that, so the last possession has nothing to do with it."
Tanner led all scorers in the loss with 28 points, a career high in SEC play, moving her up to 18th on Auburn's all-time scoring list.
"She put it on her shoulders," said head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "She said just ride with me, I'll take you."
Tra'cee Tanner, a sophomore forward and Tyrese's sister fouled out and only played 17 minutes, but still managed to be Auburn's second leading scorer with 15.
"Just imagine what she could have done had she been able to stay in the game," Williams-Flournoy said.
The Tanner sister's combined 43 points weren't enough to overcome the mistakes the Tigers made.
"We blew it," Williams-Flournoy said. "I don't know what else to really say."
Auburn led by as many as 13 in the first half, but were plagued by turnovers and fouls.
"They were just ticky-tack fouls," Davis said. "We put them in the bonus with 14 minutes left in the second half. We can't do that."
Tanner said that the foul trouble was a matter of players not getting their job done in the front-court.
"It started with the containment from our guards," Tanner said. "When they penetrate and we get beat, then we have to force the post player to step up. If we did our job early, at the top, they wouldn't have had so many fouls."
The loss drops Auburn to 11-7 overall, with a 2-3 record in SEC play, heading into a matchup at No. 14 LSU on Thursday.
The Tigers will return home next Sunday to take on the Florida Gators.
(01/16/14 4:45am)
Auburn head football coach Gus Malzahn has been named coach of the year...again.
Malzahn was named the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Wednesday night at an awards ceremony at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Houston.
After leading Auburn to a 13-2 overall record in 2013 and an appearance in the Vizio BCS National Championship, Malzahn has now received five national coach of the year awards
By beating out David Bailiff of Rice, Art Briles of Baylor, Mark Dantonio of Michigan State and David Shaw of Stanford, Malzahn becomes the fourth Auburn head coach to be honored with the award.
Terry Bowden was the first to win the award for Auburn in 1993 followed by Tommy Tuberville in 2004 and Gene Chizik in 2010. All three led their teams to undefeated seasons, while Chizik was the only one to win a national championship.
The Bryant Award winner is selected by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association and is currently in its 28th year. The award was named for Bryant following his death in 1986.
Malzahn joins a list of elite coaches who have won the award, including Joe Paterno, Nick Saban and Mack Brown.
The funds raised by the Bryant Awards benefit heart disease and stroke research, community education and outreach programs of the American Heart Association.
(01/15/14 9:23pm)
It wasn't an award Alexa Filley was expecting to win.
"I was shocked," Filley said about being named Gatorade's National High School Volleyball Player of the Year.
Filley, a senior at Assumption High School, an all-girl Catholic School in Louisville, Ky., has committed to play on Auburn's volleyball team next season.
The award was recently presented to Filley at her high school.
"They came into my class and had this big trophy," Filley said.
The 5-foot-9 senior setter said she knew she wanted to play at Auburn after she visited campus.
"I just fell in love," Filley said. "The girls on the team are amazing."
Since receiving the award, Filley said her life has become more hectic than usual.
The school volleyball season ended in November with Assumption winning its fourth-straight state championship. Filley is currently playing club volleyball, and is also dealing with all the attention that comes with receiving the award.
"I've been doing interviews with all these different newspapers and magazines," Filley said.
The senior finished with 1,248 assists, 334 digs, 102 kills, 58 blocks and 41 service-aces during her final season at Assumption, in which the Rockets posted a 36-6 record.
"I try and be whatever my team needs me to be," Filley said. "I try to be the rock."
Filley's high school coach Ron Kordes said Filley's dedication and commitment to the game are a big part of what won her award.
"Even when she was in grade school, she was coming in at 6 a.m. to work with the trainer," Kordes said. "There's no place she'd rather be than in the gym."
The award was presented to Filley not only for athletic performance, but also for her off-the-court service and performance in the classroom.
According to Gatorade's website, "The Gatorade Player of the Year award is presented to high school student-athletes who have achieved athletic excellence in conjunction with high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character."
Filley is an assistant in a local second-grade class, donates time to feeding the hungry and has volunteered with the Special Olympics, all while maintaining a 3.91 grade point average.
She won the award in its 29th year of existence and is the first player from the state of Kentucky to win the award on a national level.
In December, Filley was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Kentucky, giving Assumption its eleventh winner.
Filley will become just the third Auburn athlete to have the national award on her resume, joining Andre Scott (Track and Field, 1994) and Stacy Martin (Track and Field, 1999), and will look to make an immediate impact when she joins the Tigers on the court for the first time next season.
Auburn finished its season in November with a 3-1 loss at Georgia, giving them an overall record of 19-11 with 10-8 finish in the Southeastern Conference.
In addition to winning the award, Filley is also now a finalist for the Gatorade National Female Athlete of the Year. The winner of that award will be recognized during an afternoon ceremony in Los Angeles on the day of the ESPY Awards in July.
Should she win, Filley would be the second volleyball player to receive the honor, the first being Cynthia Barboza of Long Beach, Calif., who won in 2005.
Filley will arrive at Auburn on June 23.