AUBURN – From out of nowhere, Auburn’s women’s basketball team played again like the Southeastern Conference champions of 2009.
The Tigers, who lost their fourth straight game in embarrassing fashion at Tennessee on Thursday, took No. 9 Georgia apart 67-53 on Sunday at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
“They kicked our butts,” Georgia coach Andy Landers said.
Guard Alli Smalley scored 22 points to lead the Tigers in scoring. Center KeKe Carrier scored 15 points, had nine rebounds and blocked four shots.
The Tigers, who beat Tennessee twice en route to the SEC championship last season, were embarrassed by their performance in Knoxville. They came to make amends Sunday.
"We hadn't talked about it a whole lot," Auburn coach Nell Fortner said. "We just used it to learn some things, but we put that behind us quickly. They were totally prepared to play this game."
The Tigers improved to 12-10 overall and 3-6 in the SEC. Georgia fell to 18-4 and 5-4.
Jordan Greenleaf scored 10 points and had seven rebounds for Auburn. Freshman point guard Morgan Toles handed out 10 assists.
Auburn led 37-32 at halftime. Georgia cut it to 43-41 early in the second half. Auburn put the game away on a 12-1 run.
