Vanderbilt edges Auburn to reach SEC semis
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Ramsey hit a pair of free throws with 5.4 seconds left to lift No. 21 Vanderbilt over 19th-ranked Auburn 76-74 Friday night, sending the Commodores to their fifth straight appearance in the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals.
Auburn’s Natasha Brackett had just tied the game for the 12th time, the last with 13.2 seconds left with one of two free throws. Ramsey was trying to work off a screen by senior forward Jenni Benningfield away from the ball on the other end when Brackett was called for the foul, sending Ramsey to the line.
“She just kind of grabbed and pulled on my jersey,” Ramsey said. “It was a really good call by the officials.”
Auburn had one last chance for a tie, but Nicole Louden drove to the basket and her bucket bounced off the left side of the rim as the buzzer sounded. Ciampi wasn’t happy with his Tigers’ 13th and final personal foul.
“You saw it as well as I did. She went up to the line and knocked them down. I thought a pretty good defense for the most part. But that time of the game, I don’t think a whistle should decide the outcome of the game,” Ciampi said.
Third-seeded Auburn (21-8) missed the semifinals for the seventh straight year since winning the tournament in 1997 when the Tigers became the first — and still only — team to win four straight games en route to the title.
Vanderbilt (22-7) will play No. 15 LSU, a 79-66 winner over Mississippi, on Saturday night. Commodores coach Melanie Balcomb wasn’t ready to think ahead to that game just yet.
“I’m still thinking about Auburn. LSU? I’ll stay up all night and figure it out I’m sure,” she said.
Hillary Hager and Benningfield each scored 18 points to lead Vanderbilt, which had five players in double figures. Carla Thomas had 15, and Ramsey finished with 10 points along with Ashley Earley.
Le’Coe Willingham led Auburn with 25 points, Mandisa Stevenson added 16 and Brackett had 12.
“It was a very crucial night for us,” Willingham said. “It was very emotional and a lot of our emotions were into this game, especially being that they beat us the first two times out. Basically we came in with the attitude that we’re going to leave everything on the court.”
Vanderbilt shot a season-high 60.4 percent (29-of-48) from the floor to offset 21 turnovers. Auburn shot just 46.9 percent but stayed with the Commodores from the free throw line by going 17-of-23 compared to 10-of-15 for Vandy.
Auburn came in with the SEC’s best field goal defense, holding opponents to 34.7 percent. Asked about Vandy hitting 8-of-13 from 3-point range, Ciampi asked if the questioner had ever seen the Commodores play before.
“We covered Hager and Ramsey as good as we could, and Benningfield got hot for a while for them. They’re a great shooting team,” Ciampi said.
It was tight throughout with Vandy leading by six only by scoring the first points of the game. After that, neither team led by more than four, including a 36-36 tie at halftime.
Auburn last led 73-72 on a bucket by Brackett who failed to convert on the free throw for a three-point play with 38.1 seconds left.
“We knew the whole time it was just going to be a war to the end,” Ramsey said.