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 Coach Mike Bozeman nearly led George Washington back from a 19-point first-half deficit on Friday. |
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GW Rally Falls Short Against #10/10 Auburn, 65-51
Dec. 19, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) - Auburn had already lost the momentum and was in danger of losing the lead. Then DeWanna Bonner took over in the closing minutes.
The 6-foot-4 senior scored eight of the Tigers' final 11 points after George Washington had cut Auburn's lead to three with 4:46 left. She was perfect from the foul line over that stretch, and two key offensive rebounds in the late minutes sealed the game.
Bonner finished with season-highs of 30 points and 16 rebounds as No. 10 Auburn remained undefeated with a 65-51 win over the Colonials on Friday night.
"DeWanna, she's like a go-to player," senior guard Whitney Boddie said. "She stepped up big. They cut it to three, had a chance to cut it to one, and that's when big-time players make plays."
Auburn (11-0) had roared to a 19-point lead in the first half and had a 17-point lead with 13 minutes left before George Washington (5-4) rallied. The Colonials pulled as close a 54-51 with 4:46 to go, but Auburn and Bonner finished the game on an 11-0 run. The Tigers converted nine of 10 free throws in the final 4 1/2 minutes.
"Last year, this was a team that would just fold over and let the other team just run over them, but this year we stepped up and kept our composure," Bonner said.
The game was still tight when the teams got a break for the final media time out with less than four minutes remaining. Bonner wasn't sure she had the energy for a late push - she walked over and told Boddie, "I'm tired."
But Boddie gave Bonner some words of encouragement, and Bonner came back on the floor and scored the game's next six points.
"She just gave me my confidence back," Bonner said.
It was Bonner's third double-double of the season for Auburn, which was playing its first game in 12 days. Boddie added 14 points for the Tigers.
Auburn opened an 18-3 lead about 6 minutes into the game thanks largely to an aggressive defense that picked up 10 steals and forced 17 George Washington
turnovers before halftime.
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"They came out operating on all cylinders," George Washington coach Mike Bozeman said. "It was almost like a freight train coming at you. You didn't know what you could do to stop it."
George Washington still trailed 47-30 with 13 minutes left when it started coming back. Antelia Parrish hit 3-pointers on each of its next two possessions to spark the rally. The Colonials used a 13-2 run to close the margin to three, but couldn't get any closer. George Washington missed its next two shots and then Bonner took over.
An offensive rebound turned into three free throws, and Bonner got a rebound on the other end to go to the line again. With 1:38 left, Bonner pulled down yet another offensive rebound and put in the layup to push the lead to 61-51.
"That's what great players do," Auburn coach Nell Fortner said. "Great players make big plays when the big plays need to be made, and that's what she does."
Parrish finished with 13 points, Jessica Adair had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Jazmine Adair had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Colonials.
It was Auburn's first win in four meetings between the schools, all coming in the past two years. George Washington beat Auburn in the regular season and the opening round of the NCAA tournament last season.
When it came down to the final minutes, Boddie said in the back of her mind, she knew the Tigers needed to get the ball into Bonner's hands.
"I want her to touch the ball," Boddie said, "because I know when she touches it something is going to happen."
