Heading into this season, Auburn women’s basketball coach Nell Fortner asked her team to constantly think about the taste it got in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, when it snuck in as a No. 11 seed and was sent home after the first game.

If that’s been the case, the buff and blue of George Washington, who Auburn travels to face tonight, has been in the back of the Tigers’ heads for the better part of nine months.

“We just take it as an inspirational game to get back to the tournament,” guard/forward DeWanna Bonner said.

The No. 10 Tigers (10-0) are more than on pace to get that taste back in their mouths. They’ve had 11 days to sit on their undefeated mark, which has come mostly as a result of lopsided victories and a handful of tough wins on the road.

Still, getting win No. 11, which would fall into the “tough road win” category, might be the sweetest to date.

In its first tournament appearance since 2004, and the first under Fortner, Auburn led at halftime and extended its advantage to 7 early in the second half against the No. 6 Colonials. That lead would slowly dissipate, however, and George Washington finished the game on a 20-10 run
to prevent the upset.

“It was the only NCAA Tournament game we played,” Fortner said, “and we didn’t win it.”

Not that the Tigers need it, but an earlier meeting with Colonials may also be fresh on the brain.

George Washington’s Lisa Steele nailed a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds to go to beat Auburn, 68-66, at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum in its last regular-season, non-conference game of the 2007-08 season.

“The kids are done with finals and they have fresh minds and nothing to think about but basketball,” Fortner said. “It’s an important game for us.”

Auburn’s importance on the nationwide scene took yet another boost early this week when it jumped into the top 10 for the first time since Jan. 17, 2000. The Tigers now sit as the highest-ranked team in the SEC and continue to be the only undefeated team in the conference.

“It’s not that we are the highest ranked SEC team — we look at the ranking and feel good about what we’ve done to get that,” Fortner said. “We’ll take it and see what we can do with it.”

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No. 10 Auburn vs. George Washington
Where: Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum
When: 6 p.m.
TV/Radio: None/WXMA 96.7 FM
Scouting report: The Colonials, like Auburn, have a good mix of inside-outside with center Jessica Adair and guard Antelia Parrish providing the bulk of their scoring. At 6-foot-4, Adair will be a tough matchup for either DeWanna Bonner or Trevesha Jackson, each of whom have not seen as good of a post player since Ohio State’s Jessica Davenport. A strong start will be key for the Tigers, who have not played in 12 days.
Projected starters Auburn: F Trevesha Jackson (7.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg), F/G DeWanna Bonner (19.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg), G Sherell Hobbs (13.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg), G Alli Smalley (13.8 ppg, 3.1 apg), G Whitney Boddie (8.3 ppg, 7.8 apg)
Projected starters GW: C Jessica Adair (12.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg), F Ivy Abiona (4.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg), G/F Antelia Parrish (14.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg), G Tiana Myers (6.5 ppg, 1.4 apg), G Stefani Munro (1.6 ppg, 3.0 apg)