The ease with which KeKe Carrier won Thursday night’s jumpball signified that it might just be one of those nights for her in the post.

A painful one.

“Do you all watch her get pounded?” coach Nell Fortner asked reporters after the Tigers’ eighth consecutive win over Alabama, a 74-62 victory before 2,872 fans at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

“Can you imagine if she pounded on somebody the way she gets pounded on? It’s unbelievable. Sometimes I can’t even believe it.”

Alabama used a variety of scrappy, undersized post players to body up against the 6-foot-7 Carrier, who finished with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting. With such a massive size advantage, Carrier had no trouble establishing position deep in the paint throughout her 26 minutes on the court, even when the Crimson Tide devoted more than one defender to her.

Like most opponents against Carrier, Alabama had little option but to match Carrier’s force with elbows in the back, shoves and arm-wraps while it tried to hang on and hope her layups clanked off the rim.

“I’m glad I’m not down on the post,” Alabama guard Ericka Russell said. “She’s a big girl. They were talking at halftime about how it feels like a workout and a conditioning test out there.”

The Carrier of old, the one who underachieved — in her own opinion — throughout her first three seasons, might have responded with fouls instead of field goals on a night like Thursday. This year’s version, the lone senior on Auburn’s youthful, undermanned team, responded with a broad smile when the topic came up after Auburn’s series-record eighth straight victory over Alabama.

“I think I’ve come a long way as far as letting it get to me and staying composed,” Carrier said. “I expect the other team to bang on me and not get the calls, but I’ve still got to finish the shot.”

Despite yet another dominant effort, Carrier temporarily lost her team lead in scoring after Alli Smalley notched a career-high 27 points, which bumped Carrier down to second.

Smalley and Carrier spearheaded a first-half onslaught that propelled the Tigers to a lead that grew as large as 21 before settling for a 43-30 halftime advantage. The pair accounted for all 14 points — 7 apiece — in a 14-2 run in the game’s first 10 minutes.

“Whenever (Carrier) is confident inside, we want to give her the ball every time,” Smalley said. “But it also opens up things for everyone else on the court when they collapse on her, so she can kick it out for the open shots.”

Blanche Alverson added 12 points off an all-of-a-sudden deep Tigers bench. Auburn welcomed back both Chantel Hilliard (bone bruise) and Morgan Jennings, who played in her first game since tearing her ACL in July.

Their presence, on this night at least, was a bit of a hindrance. Auburn had rallied around the idea of it only takes eight, and chemistry had blossomed through a recent stretch that included a near upset over Florida and an overtime victory at No. 11 LSU on Sunday.

Hilliard scored 2 points before spending parts of the second half on a stationary bike. Jennings finished with a free throw in five minutes.

“Thats my fault,” Fortner said. “It just didn’t work out well and got us out of a groove.”

Long-term, though, the added bodies probably won’t hurt the Tigers as they continue through their SEC schedule.

“At shoot-around this morning we were able to have a full five-on-five,” Smalley said. “It was nice to have them back out there, because they’re really good players and will definitely contribute.”

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