AUBURN – The Lady Bulldogs got 14 points from Gabrielle Williams who came off the bench to lead the Maroon & White in their final non-conference contest versus Auburn University. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough as the Tigers took an 84-58 decision Tuesday evening.
"Gabrielle did a great job for us coming off the bench. She started earlier in the year and, tonight, probably had one her best games of the season,” said head coach Altherius Warmley. “She battled against bigger post players tonight and I was very happy with her effort."
Alabama A&M (4-6) scored 19 points in the first half off of 6-of-23 shooting and 26 points in the second off of 9-of-29 from the field.
The Maroon & White was held to 28.8 percent from the field a season low, including a 0-for-7 mark from 3-point range which was a season first. On a positive note the Lady Bulldogs hit 71.4 percent of their free throws.
Auburn's defense set the tone for the game as the Tigers forced 29 Bulldog turnovers, turning them into a season-high 39 points off turnovers on the other end.
"Auburn is going to set a lot of screens. They are going to do a lot of hand offs and a lot of penetration pull-ups,” said the ninth-year coach. “Their system is set up well for the personnel they have. We did not do what we needed to do to take them out of their game plan tonight."
Freshman Brittany Strickland and junior Whiquitta Tobar each finished with eight points. Tobar also pulled down a team-high five rebounds along with three assists and three steals.
Now that the non-conference season, which included three SEC opponents, is complete for the women’s basketball team a sigh of relief is felt as the SWAC season approaches.
"I think we probably scheduled a few too many of the big schools right there in a row. We played well against Minnesota. We struggled a little against Kentucky,” Warmely mentioned. We're on a roller coaster right now. Conference season is coming up. You cannot take anything away from Auburn. They had a great game plan and executed the things they needed to do to come out with a strong win."
The Maroon and White will start the New Year and the SWAC season when the Lady Bulldogs host Grambling State University at 5:30 p.m. in the Elmore Gymnasium on Tuesday, January, 4th.
