Special to the News

BALTIMORE, Md. — After taking nearly two weeks off from competition, the No. 10-ranked Auburn women’s basketball team (11-0) will play its second game in three days today as the Tigers take on Coppin State (0-8).
The game will be the home-opener for the Eagles and their first game since losing at Florida, 75-34, on Dec. 10.
Auburn is coming off a 65-51 win at George Washington on Friday, defending its first top-10 ranking since 2000. The Tigers led by as many as 19 points in the game, but saw the margin dwindle to three before pulling away at the end for the 14-point win.
Coppin State is coming off 22-12 season last year, one that saw the Eagles win the conference tournament and earn a NCAA appearance against in-state rival Maryland. With three starters returning from that team, Fortner said they are not a team to overlook simply because of their record.
“I think their record is not evident of how good a team they can be,” said Fortner. “They are full of athletes, their post players are pretty tough down low and their guards are very active and offensive-minded.”
Fortner said the key for Auburn will be controlling the pace of the game and not overlooking Coppin State, the team’s last opponent before breaking for the holidays.
“The key for us is to focus on our game, take care of the things we need to do and focus on our strengths,” said Fortner. “Those things are our defense and our transition offense. We need to get into a rhythm and push that ball up. They will probably play us in a zone, just like George Washington did, so a key for us will be to beat that zone before it sets up and get a lot of transition looks.”
The game could end up being a big one for Fortner, who currently holds a 99-64 record as a collegiate head coach. A win over the Eagles would break the 100-win milestone for Auburn’s fifth-year head coach.
One Auburn player is coming off a milestone of her own as senior Sherell Hobbs picked up six rebounds at George Washington, giving her exactly 500 career rebounds. By hitting the rebounding plateau, Hobbs becomes just the 17th player ever at Auburn to tally both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in their career.
Fellow senior DeWanna Bonner, who leads the SEC with 20.5 points per game, posted her best outing of the season at GW, picking up 30 points and 16 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.