JACKSON, Tenn. – The Auburn Montgomery women's basketball team held No. 24 Union to season-lows in a plethora of categories on Thursday evening, but could not capitalize on the defensive accomplishments in a 64-44 setback on the road.
 
NOTES
• AUM drops to 6-7 on the season and 2-4 in Gulf South Conference action.
• Union improves to 12-1 on the year, 5-0 in GSC play.
• The 64 points, 21 made field goals and .344 field goal percentage are all season-lows for Union, while their seven made three-pointers on a .292 percentage are both their second-lowest. The Bulldogs came into the contest leading the nation in three-point field goals made (12.6), ranking third in field-goal percentage (.508) and three-point field-goal percentage (.409) plus fifth in scoring (86.3).
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Junior guard/forward Evelina Avleeva led AUM with 14 points, adding a game-best 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
• Freshman guard Makaylla Bullard chipped in nine points, all coming from three-point territory.
• Sophomore forward Regan Croff scored eight points with six rebounds.
• For Union, five-time Gulf South Conference Player of the Week Chelsey Shumpert scored 16 points with six rebounds. It is just the second time this season the leading scorer in Division II was held under 20 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• AUM limited Union to seven points over the opening 6:28 of the contests, getting four points from Avleeva during the stretch to make it a three-point contest, 7-4. The two sides exchanged three-pointers to keep the separation at three with Bullard making the triple for AUM, but Union added a layup from Shumpert with 1:01 left in the quarter to hold a 12-7 lead.
• Union scored on their opening possession of the second quarter, sparking an 9-2 spree to make it 21-9 with 5:35 left in the frame. Sophomore forward Aaliyah Milord connected on a three-point play to bring the separation back to single digits, but a 13-2 run over the final 4:39 of the half made it 34-14.  
• After allowing five quick points following a made free throw from Avleeva, AUM went on a 7-0 spurt with junior guard/forward Jemaiya Lee, Avleeva and Croff all scoring in the rally to make it 39-22 with 5:41 left in the quarter. Neither side scored back-to-back baskets for the remainder of the frame, keeping the separation at 17, 47-30.
• Union created a game-high 27-point lead off a 14-4 run, making it 61-34 with 3:09 remaining in the contest. AUM responded with a 7-0 spree, with the two sides exchanging the final six points of the game.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Warhawks converted on 14-55 shots, going 4-17 from three-point territory and 12-21 from the free throw line.
• Union went 21-61 from the field, 7-24 from beyond the arc and 15-22 from the free throw line.
• AUM recorded six assists while the Bulldogs posting 17
• AUM committed 17 turnovers, resulting in 17 Union points. The hosts committed 10 turnovers, leading to 11 points.
• Union held a 40-37 advantage in rebounds.
• AUM recorded 10 five steals with three blocks while Union stole the ball seven times with as many blocks.
 
Quoting the Coach
"We took on one of the premiere offenses in the country on their home court and held them to season-lows across the board," head coach Dan Davis said. "I think that speaks volumes to what we can do defensively when we are 100-percent committed and working as a team. I am proud of the way we were able to limit Union to 24 points under their average, we did exactly what we had to on defense but could not finish on the other end. We had good looks, we got the ball where we wanted too but just could not score. We took a big step forward as a team, I saw a lot we can build off of tonight. We showed heart after a rough start coming back from the holiday break."
 
UP NEXT
The women's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at West Georgia at 4:30 p.m.
 
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