George Washington University Athletics
Women's Basketball Caps Road Swing Saturday at Auburn
12/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2009
GW at Auburn Notes 
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AUBURN, AL - The George Washington women's basketball team completes its stretch of five consecutive games away from home Saturday at defending Southeastern Conference champion Auburn. The Tigers are the second straight SEC opponent for the Colonials following a 93-53 loss at No. 6/5 Tennessee Tuesday night. GW's five straight games away from home are the most during regular-season play since 1995-96.
GW (2-4) has lost four straight games since back-to-back come-from-behind victories to open the season. Two of those four losses have come against ranked opponents - a 78-47 loss versus No. 25 Michigan State and 93-53 defeat at No. 6/5 Tennessee.
Saturday's game marks GW and Auburn's fifth all-time meeting, with all four previous games occuring within the past three seasons. GW won the first three games in the series, one apiece at home, on the road and at a neutral site. All four contests have been met with drama:
#20 GW 62, Auburn 51 (Dec. 16, 2006) - GW led 36-23 at halftime, but Auburn pulled within a point before a late 12-2 Colonials' run in Washington, DC.
#20/19 GW 68, #18 Auburn 66 (Jan. 3, 2008) - Lisa Steele's three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left gave GW a two-point victory in Alabama.
#20/16 GW 66, Auburn 56 (March 22, 2008) - No. 6-seed GW advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season with a 66-56 win over Auburn in Stanford, CA. GW closed the game with a 28-12 swing after trailing midway through the second half.
#10 Auburn 65, GW 51 (Dec. 19, 2008) - Auburn led by 17 with 13 minutes left, but GW rallied to within three with less than five minutes to play. AU scored the game's final 11 points.
GW will dress just nine players for the second consecutive game Saturday. Freshman starting point guard Danni Jackson suffered a broken left fibula against No. 25 Michigan State Nov. 27 and is sidelined indefinitely. The Colonials led the Spartans, 20-19, with 8:35 left in the first half at the time of Jackson's injury. Jackson also was leading the A-10 in assists per game (5.0 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9) before her injury. Redshirt junior Ivy Abiona, GW's lone upperclassman, continues to rehab a torn ACL sustained in the offseason with no timetable set for her return.
Auburn (5-3) is coming off its best season in two decades after finishing 30-4 and capturing the regular-season SEC title in 2008-09. The Tigers lost in the SEC Championship game, but advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before bowing out to Rutgers on the Scarlet Knights' home floor. Alli Smalley is the leading returner from last year's team as AU lost SEC Player of the Year and 2009 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year DeWanna Bonner and WNBA draft pick Whitney Boddie.
Senior KeKe Carrier, a 6-foot-7 center, recorded her second straight double-double with 28 points and 13 rebounds to lead Auburn to its first road victory of the season, 76-63, at North Carolina A&T Tuesday night. Carrier also had 17 points and 12 boards in the Tigers' 69-45 victory over Florida A&M in the consolation of the Seminole Classic in Tallahassee, FL, Nov. 28. Carrier is averaging 12.0 points on 60.3 percent shooting and 6.6 rebounds in 17.8 minutes through eight games. Junior Alli Smalley leads AU in scoring at 16.4 ppg, followed by freshman Nicolle Thomas at 12.5 ppg.
