Nell Fortner has talked ad nauseam throughout the season about her desire to get her bench more involved.

She just wasn’t able to “bite the bullet” until Thursday’s game against Ole Miss.

Though it took a while, the first test was rather pain-free for Fortner, who said she will continue to provide more minutes to Auburn’s subs down the stretch.

That bench could be in store for plenty of action today against Alabama, which has lost 35 of its past 36 SEC games. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Coleman Coliseum.

“Just be able to count on a few more players on the floor,” Fortner said, “that is a real positive thing.”

The biggest contributors in Thursday’s 82-75 win were junior Reneisha Hobbs and freshman Chantel Hilliard.

Hobbs has played in all but one game this season, but had rarely been called upon for significant minutes since SEC play began. On Thursday, though, she was active from the start, particularly on defense, where she bodied up on Rebels players by the perimeter in the Tigers’ zone.

Hilliard, meanwhile, provided an impact in the post, where she spelled Trevesha Jackson early in the game and late in the second half, when the Tigers struggled to put away the Rebels. Hilliard scored 6 points, including a big layup late in the game.

Even sparsely used Parrisha Simmons, who had played in just three SEC games before Thursday, was used during an important stretch of the game. With the Tigers struggling to contain Ole Miss’ Bianca Thomas on the perimeter, Simmons, a tough defender, spelled Sherell Hobbs for two minutes early in the second half.

“They came out and played great defense and offense,” senior DeWanna Bonner said. “That’s something we are going to need down the stretch.”

The one relative no-show from the bench Thursday was KeKe Carrier, who played just four minutes — all in the first half — and missed all three of her field-goal attempts. Her defense was key, however, as she blocked two shots and grabbed three rebounds.

Carrier’s presence alone can change a game, but her inconsistency on offense makes her a question mark from night to night. Carrier has scored just 9 points on 2-of-9 shooting in the past five games. Against Tennessee, she didn’t even attempt a shot.

In her last two games, Carrier has played just eight combined minutes.

Fortner said she’s not necessarily disappointed with Carrier’s recent performance, but was instead more impressed with Hilliard’s offensive potential.

“KeKe has had a lot of opportunities with a lot of minutes this year and Chantel has not,” Fortner said. “When Chantel got out there and started producing, I thought it was good to give her those minutes.”

Still, no matter how well Auburn’s bench plays, it’s tough to sit the likes of Bonner, Whitney Boddie and Alli Smalley for too long.

“None of them want to come out,” Fortner said. “That’s a real credit to their conditioning.”

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