Auburn’s women’s basketball players hit the floor running, and they don’t plan to slow down anytime soon.
Speedy point guard Whitney Boddie, academically ineligible for Southeastern Conference play last season, is back in good standing. And head coach Nell Fortner, heading into her fifth Auburn season, says the plan is for the Tigers run like they have seldom run before.
"We were really running it last year when Whitney was with us in the fall,” Fortner said Monday. “It probably wasn’t as fast as we are trying to run it this year, but it’s the same game. We are just pushing the ball.”
Fortner said she got the idea from the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
“They pushed the ball,” Fortner said. “ … They have fleet-footed players and players who can shoot the 3. They like to shoot the ball fast, and that is what we are looking to do. We are looking to get the ball down the floor and take the first open shot. We want to get it up there and crash the boards. When we score, we are going to press somebody.
“It’s just a very, very up-tempo green-light offense. That is the best way that I can describe it. If it stops looking like that, I am going to have to pull the reins in. I am being very patient with it. We are going to run it, and I really believe we have the personnel to run it.”
Expectations are high for the Tigers, who lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
DeWanna Bonner (18.4 ppg, 10 rpg), a preseason All-American, leads a senior class that has been often tested. She is joined by Boddie (10.6 ppg, 5.8 apg), guard Sherell Hobbs (13.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and forward Travesha Jackson (6.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg). Massive 6-foot-7 center Kiki Carrier a fourth-year junior who was academically ineligible last season, is also back in good standing.
"We can be very good,” Bonner said. “… Our speed is great. That’s the best part of our game right now and we are just going to use that to our advantage and come up with some great wins this year."
The return of Boddie and Carrier, Bonner said, will take the Tigers to another level.
"Whitney is awesome,” Bonner said. “That’s your point guard, your leader, your quarterback on your team. To have her back is just awesome. You trust her, you trust your point guard. You don’t have to worry about going back to get the ball. You don’t have any pressure on you. You jus tplay ball because you have Whitney back.
"Nobody in the country is like KeKe. I mean 6-7. She intimidates people when she just walks on the court. She’s working real hard. She pushes herself every day and she is going to be great this season. She goes out and plays hard every day and tries to get herself better."
Hobbs said she sees significant differences from her first three seasons.
“I think we are a lot stronger and faster than we were last year,” Hobbs said. “We have a lot more leadership than we have had in previous years I have been here. I think that’s a big difference from the last three years.”
The Tigers play Anderson University in an exhibition game on Nov. 9 and open the regular season against Alabama A&M on Nov. 14 at Alabama A&M.
