WBB: Winter for Auburn

The pre-Super Bowl crowd was full of blue princesses and snowmen as the team was doing a Frozen February promotion. The Ags looked to keep Auburn on frozen out of the win column in SEC play. After the loss at S. Carolina, Coach Blair talked about reducing the three-headed post to two, relying more on Rachel Mitchell and Khaalia Hillsman.

First half

Hillsman got the start on Sunday, along with the usual others: Ade, Williams, Walker, and Jones. Auburn countered with Tra'Cee Tanner, freshman twin forwards Jazmine and Jessica Jones, Neydja Petithomme, and Brandy Montgomery. The emphasis on developing post play came right off the opening tip as CWill fed Khaalia in the block for a quick layup. And that gave the Ags the lead for good. A&M led by just 6-2 when Coach Fluornoy called an early timeout. The Ags made it 8-2 off a turnover after the break and the rout was on.

A couple of first half highlights:

• Williams stole the ball and threw a behind the back pass in the general direction of the frontcourt as she was falling out of bounds on the right side. Jones beat an Auburn defender to the ball and hit Tavarsha for a layup. Sportscenter top 10 material on most nights.
• With time running out in the half, the Ags used the last 9 seconds perfectly as Knox got an assist to Williams for a long 3 at the buzzer.

Second half

Auburn closed the gap a bit to start the second half with a couple of 3s but the Ags took control again. The Ags raised their shooting to 59.3% after the break. A highlight came at 13:52 when Williams missed a jumper from the right baseline. Ade got the offensive board on the left side but the putback was a bit too hard and started to come off the right side of the basket when Rachel Mitchell got a tip-in at the rim for her only FG of the game.

Final Score: 78-45 Ags

Overall/Misc

• The Ags thoroughly dominated Auburn. Points in the paint: 40-18. Rebounds: 35-22. Points off turnovers: 25-6 Bench points: 30-19. 13 Ags played; 11 scored (only Tori Scott and Allison Chu were shut out).
• Courtney Williams had a big comeback from her frustrating night on Monday, leading all scorers with 23 points on 10-18 shooting. In the postgame, Kelly Bond talked about how newcomer transfer Jasmine Lumpkin (who was on the bench in street clothes) really pushed Williams in practice.
• Jordan Jones had 10 assists and 4 steals against 5 turnovers. Courtney Walker added 13 and led the team in rebounds with 7.
• Tra'Cee Tanner had a double-double for Auburn; Brandy Montgomery also scored 10. Although her suspension from the SEC was over, Hasina Muhammad did not play.
• 4,086 showed up despite that other distraction later in the day.
• Today's pic is another low res image from my iPhone. For some better pics, check out the gallery from my colleage Matt Sachs at TexAgs.
• The halftime was a normal break with the Dance Team and the Elite and Little Wranglers. Then the scoreboard showed the team doing the Karaoke of the song Let it go from Frozen embedded above The crowd went nuts. The girls were having fun in both the video and on the court.

It's funny how some distance
Makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me
Can't get to me at all!

It's time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me I'm free!

- Let it go, from Frozen

Up Next: On the road again

• Mizzou
• 8 PM CST Thursday Feb 5, 2015
• Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Missouri
• SEC Network