No. 6 Auburn tries to down Lady Vols

KNOXVILLE — Auburn women’s basketball coach Nell Fortner knows there are other games to play this season.

Still, it’s hard to downplay this Southeastern Conference showdown.

The sixth-ranked Tigers (19-0, 4-0) will try to snap a 16-game losing streak against No. 10 Tennessee (15-3, 4-1) when they host the defending national champions today at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Despite a winless record against the Lady Vols while at the Plains, Fortner likes her team’s chances. Buoyed by four seniors in the starting lineup, the Tigers are 19-0 for the first time since the 1988-89 season, when Auburn won its first 28 games before losing to the Lady Vols in the SEC tournament.

“I really think that you have to have a team that has some confidence about themselves and some experience in playing Tennessee, and right now that is what we have,” Fortner said.

UT’s six true freshmen make it one of the youngest teams in the history of the program, and the Tigers hope to exploit UT’s inexperience.

“I believe that this Auburn team has a lot more poise and experience than we’ve ever had in any past Tennessee games that we have played, so this is different for us this year,” Fortner said.

Senior DeWanna Bonner leads Auburn in scoring (20.2) and rebounding (8.6). Listed as a guard, the 6-foot-4 standout has the ability to play any position on the court.

“I guess I probably overuse the word ‘versatile’ for her, but I don’t know another word to describe her with,” Fortner said. “She just has so many weapons in her pocket.”

Still, Fortner said she isn’t overlooking Tennessee’s playmakers.

“They have some tremendous young talent,” she said. “They are big, long; they can cover a lot of space; they have very good shooters. They just have a tremendous amount of talent, but just younger than what (Tennessee coach) Pat Summitt has had in the past. But they are still very, very good.”

Tennessee has won three straight games over conference opponents after falling to Vanderbilt on Jan. 11. In their last game, the Lady Vols needed a late spurt to hold off Arkansas for a 76-67 road victory Thursday.

But the Lady Vols likely can’t afford to rely solely on a strong finish against Auburn, which ranks fifth in the nation in scoring (80.5) and third in field-goal percentage (.483).

“I think right now Nell’s more excited about this team than any team she’s had,” said Summitt, who needs two wins to reach 1,000 for her career. “Obviously, the proof right there is in the winning. They’ve gotten it done. It’s going to be a huge challenge for us on the road.”