The offensive woes that hounded Auburn for the better part of the season seemed to disappear in the span of 16 minutes against Tennessee Tech in the first round of the Women’s NIT on Thursday night.

The Tigers (16-15) shrugged off a 7-point deficit with 15:50 to go in the game and outscored the homestanding Golden Eagles, 35-14, down the stretch, shooting 53.8 percent in the second half.

Even more encouraging for Auburn coach Nell Fortner: the number of players the offensive surge came from.

Alli Smalley and her always dependable shooting touch put in 17. Chantel Hilliard scored 13 in the post, Morgan Jennings netted 11 from the point — not to mention five assists and no turnovers — and Tyrese Tanner added 10 off the bench.

“Getting a lot of players involved is great because we don’t have that one, dominating scorer,” Fortner said. “For us to be able to spread it out and get four players in double figures is definitely a good thing. We shot the ball really well in the second half, got some great minutes off the bench and that is key this time of year.”

Smalley, the Tigers’ only senior, seems reluctant to let her Auburn career end.

She is averaging 19.3 points, 4.0 assists and 3.8 rebounds over the past four games, shooting 44.1 percent from the field.

Auburn’s second-round opponent, Toledo (24-8), which it faces today at 11 a.m. — a mere 38 hours after beating Tennessee Tech — also has a guard that can score and distribute in 5-foot-7 junior Naama Shafir.

Shafir leads the Rockets with 14.5 points and 5.1 assists per game.

Toledo also has an inside threat in 6-2 senior Melissa Goodall, who averages 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

“Toledo is another tough team and another conference champion for us to face. They shoot the 3 really well and play excellent defense,” Fortner said. “They are tough.”

If the Tigers win, they’ll face the winner of Northwestern-Alabama in the third round Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

“Anything you can do positively in the postseason is good,” Fortner said. “We have a lot of freshmen that are getting some good postseason minutes, everything is a growing experience right now. We are learning and everything is positive.”

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Second round, Women’s NIT
Auburn (16-15) at Toledo (24-8)

Where: Savage Arena, Toledo, Ohio

When: 11 a.m.

Radio/TV: WMXA (96.7 FM)/No TV

Projected starters, Auburn: G Morgan Jennings, 5-8, Jr. (3.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg); G Alli Smalley, 5-8, Sr. (12.3 rpg, 3.2 rpg); G/F Blanche Alverson, 6-3, So. (10.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg); F Chantel Hilliard, 6-2, Jr. (6.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg); F Jassany Williams, 6-2, Fr. (3.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg)

Projected starters, Toledo: F Lecretia Smith, 5-9, So. (6.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg); G Naama Shafir, 5-7, Jr. (14.5 ppg, 5.1 apg); G Andola Dortch, 5-7, Fr. (6.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg); G Jessica Williams, 5-8, Sr. (9.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg); F Melissa Goodall, 6-2, Sr. (13.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg)