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Home > SECWB News & More! > SEC Teams > Auburn > 2008 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament Day 1, Evening Session Recap
2008 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament Day 1, Evening Session Recap
by LeAnne Harrington, SECWB.com
Posted: March 7th, 2008 @ 4:41am
Game 3: #5 seed Georgia Lady Bulldogs vs. #12 seed Alabama Crimson Tide. The evening session began with a game that should have been a blowout but was anything but: Andy Landers’ squad was lucky to get past a pesky Tide team with an upset of Georgia on their minds. Although the Lady Dawgs finished the regular season with an identical 8-6 SEC record, Kentucky was granted the #4 seed (and a first round bye) by virtue of their Jan. 31 win over the Lady Dawgs. Georgia’s teams are used to chilling back at the hotel on Thursdays -- they hadn’t played an SEC first round game since 2004 - so I guess they can be forgiven for coming out looking a little lost. Georgia jumped out to an early 10-2 lead, but Stephanie Smith’s young Alabama team didn’t roll over and play dead just because the seedings said they should. The Tide came back and played one of their more competitive halves of the season, trailing only 31-29 at the half behind Tierney Jenkins’ 8 points and 5 first-half rebounds. I’m quite sure the decibel level at halftime in the Georgia locker room was quite elevated, because Georgia coach Andy Landers felt like his team had not come to play with pride and passion, and it showed. Needless to say, something he said at halftime got their attention, and the Lady Dawgs started to play up to their potential in the second half. Georgia stretched the lead to 13 points on several occasions, but give Alabama credit: they never quit. Smith’s young team played tough, with two freshmen leading the way. Tierney Jenkins, playing in front of a virtual hometown crowd (she prepped at nearby Mt. Juliet High School), scored a game high 18 points, and Katie Hancock added 14. Georgia finally prevailed over the Tide by a score of 71-62 in one of the more competitive games of the first day.
What proved to be Alabama’s undoing were turnovers and free throws -- or a lack thereof. The Crimson Tide committed 19 turnovers compared to Georgia’s 9, and Georgia converted Alabama’s 19 turnovers into 18 points. In addition, Alabama only got to the line 18 times, connecting on 13 of their charity shots, compared to Georgia’s 31 free throw attempts.
Although Alabama finished at the bottom of the league yet again, coach Stephanie Smith is obviously making strides with this young team. Tierney Jenkins is a player to be reckoned with, and Katie Hancock is another solid freshman with a sweet stroke. Hopefully Smith will be given a couple of more years to prove what she can do at this level before having the rug pulled out from under her. She’s only been in the league for 3 years and seems capable of putting together a good program if she can keep her recruiting going in the right direction. Up next for Georgia: Kentucky, and a chance to exact some revenge.
Game 4: #6 seed Auburn Lady Tigers vs. #11 seed Arkansas Lady Razorbacks. zzzzz…ZZZZZ…zzzzz… Someone wake me when this is over. In what proved to be the most boring game of the entire first day, Auburn easily handled Arkansas 73-51 behind Dewanna Bonner’s 26 points and 14 rebounds. What started as an already thin crowd became a virtual empty house as this one played out. It was anticlimactic from the beginning, and that’s about all there is to it. After beginning their season 15-0 during their non-conference schedule, also known as the patsy portion, Tom Collen’s crew ran into the Southeastern Conference buzz saw, finishing 17-13. This year’s schedule is not necessarily Collen’s fault; he inherited a schedule that for the most part was solidified before he arrived on campus, but it is up to him to play a tougher non-conference schedule in order to prepare his team for January jabs, February floggings and March Madness. Up next for Auburn: Vanderbilt.
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