BALTIMORE, Md. —Auburn women’s basketball head coach Nell Fortner picked up the 100th victory of her career as a collegiate head coach Sunday as the No. 10 Tigers (12-0) shut down Coppin State (0-9) in the second half for a 74-46 win.
Fortner began her coaching career in 1986 as an assistant, but is in only her sixth season as a collegiate head coach after serving stints with the U.S. National Team and in the WNBA. Five of her six seasons as a head coach have come at Auburn with 83 of her 100 victories coming as the Tigers’ head coach.
Currently holding a perfect 12-0 record so far this season, Fortner was quick to deflect the attention to her staff and players.
“I have been fortunate to have Kerry Cremeans with me through all 100 of those wins, she was with me at Purdue and all through at Auburn,” said Fortner. “Melissa Maines has been with me through five of those six years as a collegiate head coach, Kelly Komara has been with me for four of those years, and I think I am most proud of them.
“You have to have a great staff to accomplish anything, and I have been fortunate to be surrounded by some very good people and some very good players.”
Auburn used steady offense and a lock-down second-half defensive effort to leave Coppin State with the win. Leading by only seven at halftime, the Tigers held the Eagles scoreless for more than nine minutes to open the second half. AU limited Coppin State to 16 second-half points on 17.9 percent shooting.
“I thought our defense really picked up in the second half, we were more active and more focused,” said Fortner. “We got into a rhythm defensively, we put the press on them and that seemed to be very effective and forced some turnovers on them.”
The Tigers forced 23 CSU turnovers in the game, 12 of which came in the second half, while tallying 11 steals. Senior guard Sherell Hobbs led Auburn, tying her career high with five steals in the game.
Offensively, Auburn was led by sophomore guard Alli Smalley as she tallied 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including a 4-of-4 mark from beyond the three-point line.
“Whitney (Boddie) created a lot of good shots for me, she got in there and drew in the defense and was able to kick the ball out to me,” said Smalley. Boddie posted a game-high seven assists along with her six points in the win.
Also finishing in double figures was junior KeKe Carrier as she hit 6-of-7 from the field, along with both of her free throw attempts, for 14 points in the game. Carrier also posted a season-high five blocks against the Eagles.
Seniors Hobbs and DeWanna Bonner finished with nine points each in the game. Trevesha Jackson added seven while freshman Chantel Hilliard came off the bench for six points, all in the second half, and a game-high nine
rebounds.
“Chantel Hilliard had a really nice game for us, did some really good things, and KeKe Carrier did as well,” said Fortner. “I thought our bench played really well today, they came in and really went beyond contributing today, they got better and we need them to get better every night.”
The 10th-ranked Tigers will take a week off for the Holidays before taking to the court again. Auburn will travel to Miami for the Miami Holiday Tournament, Dec. 29-30, 2008. Auburn will take on Duquesne in its first game on Dec. 29.

Bonner hurts hand, undergoing X-rays
Bonner, Auburn’s leading scorer and rebounder, fell awkwardly on her right hand Sunday at Coppin State and will undergo precautionary
X-rays today.
Bonner was fouled hard by Coppin State’s Shinaa Cross while going up for a layup midway through the second half of the Tigers’ 74-46 victory over the Eagles in Baltimore, Md. In trying to brace herself, Bonner injured a finger on her shooting hand.
Hobbs shot the two free throws for Bonner, who did not play the rest of the game. Trainers wrapped the hand and Bonner was in better spirits later in the day, according to an Auburn spokesman.
A timetable for Bonner’s return, whether the finger is broken or not, is unknown.
Bonner, the preseason SEC player of the year, is averaging 19.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.