The Auburn women’s basketball team might want to book Gene Chizik for the NCAA Tournament.

Chizik gave the first pregame speech of his Auburn career Thursday and, if the immediate results are an indication, he’ll likely stick to the same script in September.

The No. 5 Tigers, fresh off a Chizik pep talk, built a big cushion in the first half and clung to it through the second on their way to a 81-69 victory over Kentucky before 3,216 fans at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

“That was so tight when he came in. My eyes were all big and stuff,” point guard Whitney Boddie said. “I don’t know if he practiced that before he gave it, but it was really good.

“It might have had something to do with the first half.”

Auburn (24-1, 9-1 SEC) used a 27-5 run on its way to outscoring Kentucky, 47-27, in the first half.

Per usual, the Tigers burned their foe in transition, as Boddie paced the attack. The senior point guard knocked down five of her six shots and dished out seven of her 10 assists in the frantic first 20 minutes.

“They really overwhelmed us in the first half,” Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell.

The fast pace slowed a bit in the second half, and so did Auburn’s productivity.

The Wildcats repeatedly dumped the ball into the post during an 11-0 run, which cut the lead to 6 midway through the second half. The Tigers, meanwhile, struggled to find a flow offensively, as sustaining leads with a slowed-down pace isn’t exactly their forte.

“It’s hard when you’re used to practicing fast and hearing (head coach) Nell (Fortner) in your ear saying ‘Go, go, go,’ when you’re trying to milk the clock,” Boddie said. “That’s not how you’re accustomed to doing it. That might be something we need to work on because it kind of got us in the Tennessee game, too.”

Body blows sustained and a new lesson learned, Auburn staved off the rally with a mini-run and tighter defense to pick up its fourth consecutive victory and take a one-game lead in the SEC.
Florida, which came into Thursday tied for first with the Tigers, lost at Vanderbilt, 84-68.

“I could have called a timeout, but I wanted them to try to do it on their own on the floor and I felt like they did that,” Fortner said. “I was pleased with how the team came out of that.”

Boddie led the Tigers with 20 points, as the rest of Auburn’s starters racked up double-digit scoring efforts for just the second time of the season.

And it was the first following a go-get-em speech from the highest-paid coach at Auburn.

Fortner admitted that Chizik’s speech was your typical coachspeak. The crux of it, Boddie and DeWanna Bonner said, dealt with taking one game at a time and how any team can beat anyone on any given day.

“We all say about the same thing, but it was really nice to hear some things come out of his mouth that they hear come out of our mouth all the time,” Fortner said. “He’s got a lot of fire in him.”

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