FLORENCE, Ala. – Despite limiting one of the top offenses in the country to 13 points under their season average, the Auburn Montgomery women's basketball team fell in its final road Gulf South Conference game of the season 69-51 at No. 16 North Alabama on Wednesday evening.
 
NOTES
• AUM falls to 8-17 on the season and 4-14 in Gulf South Conference action.
• North Alabama improves to 23-2, 16-5 in GSC play.
• North Alabama, who came into the contest ranked fifth in Division II in points per game with 82.7, was held under 70 points for just the sixth time this season. It is the second time against AUM, who limited the high-octane Lions' offense to 66 points in the first matchup between the two sides.
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Freshman guard Makaylla Bullard recorded a game-high 19 points, matching her career-high, shooting 6-12 from the floor and 5-7 from three-point territory.
• Sophomore guard Aaliyah Milord chipped in 12 points.
• Sophomore forward Regan Croff pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds.
• Redshirt sophomore center Bailee Wolfe led the team with two assists and two steals to go with four rebounds.
• For North Alabama, reigning GSC Player of the Week Brittany Panetti scored 18 points on 7-11 shooting with six rebounds while Ansley Eubanks recorded six assists with five steals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• North Alabama opened the contest with a tripe on their initial possession, adding a jump shot to their lead before a layup from senior guard Shanna Strain put AUM on the scoreboard and cut the deficit to 5-2. The Lions responded with an 8-0 run, creating an early double-digit separation at 13-2. The Warhwaks cut into the gap with a 9-3 rally to make it 16-11, sparked by a made free throw from senior guard Nadia Stewart with Bullard scoring the other eight points, but back-to-back baskets by UNA made it 20-11 at the end of the first quarter. 
• Both sides scored 11 points in the second quarter, keeping the deficit in single digits at the intermission, 31-22. AUM began the stanza with a layup from Croff before a quick 5-0 spurt for the Lions made it 25-13. AUM responded with back-to-back baskets from junior guard/forward Jemaiya Lee and Milord, only for a 6-0 run by the hosts creating a half-high lead of 14, 31-17. AUM ended the quarter on a 5-0 run with junior center Makayla Liles making a layup and Strain connecting on a triple.
• The second half began with the two sides exchanging 5-0 spurts to keep the separation at nine, 36-27, with Bullard and Milord scoring a triple and jumper for AUM before a 9-2 UNA run made it 45-29. The two sides split the ensuing eight points, with senior guard Kyla Rooks and junior guard Evelina Avleeva scoring for the Warhwaks, but back-to-back layups by the Lions to end the quarter made it 51-33 going into the final frame.
• The hosts used a 9-3 run to start the fourth to create a game-high 24-point lead at 60-36. AUM brought the deficit under 20 with a 5-0 run off a jumper from Milord and three-pointer from Bullard, only for an equal retort making it 65-41. AUM responded with a 7-0 spree via a triple from Bullard and back-to-back layups from Milord to make it 65-48 before a jumper for UNA ended the rally and made it 67-48. AUM added three more points to their total off a free throw from Croff and layup from Bullard while the Lions scored one more jump shot to create the final score.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Warhawks converted on 20-55 shots, going 6-13 from three-point territory and 5-10 from the free throw line.
• UNA went 26-51 from the field, 6-22 from beyond the arc and 11-16 from the free-throw line.
• Sparked by Milord, the Warhawks got 21 points off the bench versus eight for North Alabama
• North Alabama held a 33-30 advantage in rebounds.
• AUM recorded 24 points in the paint, the Lions scored 36
• AUM committed 18 turnovers, resulting in 18 Lions' points. The Hosts committed 17 turnovers, leading to 17 points.
• AUM recorded six steals with a block while North Alabama stole the ball seven times with four blocks.
 
QUOTING THE COACH
"It may not reflect on our record, but we are playing good basketball at the moment," head coach Dan Davis said. "Tonight is a prime example, we played one of the top teams in our league and top-20 in the nation and ended up with more offensive rebounds and shots. We made some changes on offense which worked well, they allowed Aaliyah and KK more opportunities which they capitalized on. Defensively I am proud of this team, we held North Alabama under 70 in both our games against them. That is not easy to do against a high-scoring team like them, especially to do it on their home court. At this point in the season it would be easy for the girls to mentally give up, but day-in and day-out they work like we are in the hunt for a conference championship berth and I could not be prouder of them for it."
 
UP NEXT
The women's basketball team returns to the AUM Athletics Complex to host Christian Brothers on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. with Senior Day festivities set to take place after.
 
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