Lady Dogs thump Auburn

ATHENS, Ga. - Auburn's 6-foot-5 center Marita Payne lived up to her shot-blocking prowess, but it proved of little consequence against No. 18 Georgia Sunday.

"She didn't really change my game," said Georgia freshman Tasha Humphrey, who led the Lady Dogs to a 71-56 win with 17 points and 10 rebounds, her fifth double double in five Southeastern Conference games.

"I just had to be more conscientious of where I turned and who I shot over," Humphrey said.

Payne equalled her own school record with 10 blocks, befitting the nation's leading shot blocker, averaging 4.4 a game coming in.

"We knew we would have to settle for outside shots instead of taking the ball into the paint," said freshman Megan Darrah, who contributed 12 points and eight rebounds for Georgia (14-5, 3-2 SEC).

"We probably took some shots that we would have been better off not taking," said coach Andy Landers, who was pleased with Georgia's defense.

"They only had 15 points in the first 17 minutes," he said. "It looked good until we gave up the last seven points of the half, and that was because we kept taking it in and getting it blocked or turned it over."

Georgia hit nine 3-point field goals, getting 15 points from Janese Hardrick and 12 from Sherill Baker.

Payne led Auburn (9-7, 0-3 SEC) with 11 points and six rebounds, four short of the first triple double in school history. Natasha Brackett added 10 points.

"She's an exceptional shot-blocker, but she always plays a quiet game," said coach Nell Fortner of Payne, a junior from Melbourne, Australia. "She is not a physical player. She had a good game, but I am greedy. I want the triple double, and I want the win."

"Their athletes got going," Fortner added. "I picked them in my top five at the end of last year based on who they had coming back, and who they had coming in. I don't know of another team in the country that I would put in their category for athleticism."

Auburn went nearly five minutes before scoring its first field goal, by which time Georgia had taken a 13-3 lead, highlighted by 3-pointers by Cori Chambers, Humphrey and surprise starter Katie Frye.

Auburn made no real run at Georgia, but trailed 15-7 at 12:58 after Louise Emeagi's putback. But the Lady Dogs dominated the next six minutes, 17-3. Baker scored three baskets during the run, two off a steal and one off a loose ball, giving Georgia a 32-10 lead with 6:46 to play in the half.

Georgia held that 22-point lead as late as 2:38 in the half when Darrah hit a 3-pointer, but the Tigers scored the last seven points of the half to close within 37-22 at intermission.

Twice in the second half, Auburn was as close as 13 points, the last after Alexis Ogubie's short jumper made it 43-30 with 14:55 to play. But a 15-5 run over the next six minutes put the Lady Dogs comfortably ahead 58-34 after Hardrick's driving layup with 8:52 to play.

Hardrick gave Georgia its biggest lead at 71-46 when she hit two free throws with 2:47 to play. Auburn scored the game's last 10 points.

Auburn's fifth straight loss is the longest since the school lost seven in row in 2002.