College basketball

Auburn cruises past Jaguars in NIT debut

AUBURN, Ala. -- Tia Miller had 14 points and 15 rebounds and Natasha Brackett scored 21 to lead Auburn to a 77-53 win over South Alabama in the first round of the women's National Invitation Tournament.

The Tigers (19-11) shot 30-of-59 from the field (50.8 percent) in their first NIT appearance. They play the winner of today's Florida International-Florida State game in the quarterfinal.

Auburn continued its dominance of South Alabama (19-11), beating the Jaguars for the 36th time in 38 games. The last time South Alabama beat Auburn was Feb. 23, 1980.

Mandisa Stevenson added 13 points, including 3 of 4 3-pointers, and seven rebounds for Auburn.

Lindsay McGinnis led the Jaguars with 12 points, but South Alabama shot 31.1 percent from the field. Sara Carter and Qiana Mitchell chipped in 10 points each.

Auburn dominated South Alabama on the boards as well, outrebounding the Jaguars 49-24.

ST. JOSEPH'S 65, DELAWARE 47: Irina Krasnoshiok scored 14 to lead the host Hawks.

Amra Mehmedic scored 12 and Erin Brady 10 for St. Joseph's (19-10), which was 6-for-7 from 3-point range and 13-for-20 overall in the first half to build a 33-15 lead. The Hawks were ahead 33-21 at the half.

Tiara Malcom had 21 points and had 14 rebounds for Delaware (22-9). Julie Sailer added 10 points.

Delaware took advantage of St. Joseph's foul problems to creep back into contention in the second half. Trailing 43-29 with 13:26 remaining, the Blue Hens hit six free throws during a 9-3 run. Christine Cole's two free throws with 7:54 left cut the deficit to 46-38.

The Hawks regrouped, however, and Colleen McGahan's corner jumper made it 48-38. Two Erin Brady free throws gave St. Joseph's a 50-38 lead. Malcom hit a layup for Delaware before the Hawks put the game away on Faith Gross' three-point play and another McGahan basket.

St. Joseph's meets the winner of today's Georgetown-Richmond game Saturday or Sunday.

WEATHER DELAY: Austin Peay's travel to the NCAA Tournament was delayed by a snowstorm that dumped 45 inches in Denver.

The Govs were scheduled to fly out of Nashville on Wednesday night. But Denver International Airport was closed for the day, while Boulder, Colo., had 38 inches of snow.

Austin Peay (27-3) does not face North Carolina (27-5) until Saturday night in Boulder in the first round of the Mideast Region. But the Govs wanted an extra day to acclimate to the higher altitude.

North Carolina was scheduled to leave Wednesday night for Colorado Springs, and the team may spend the night there before being bused to Boulder.

"We think at this point we're going to make it," North Carolina spokeswoman Dana Gelin said.

The NCAA's travel agent rebooked the Govs on two different flights for today, one landing in Denver with the other to Colorado Springs if Denver remains closed.

The teams must be in Boulder by Friday for open practices and scheduled news conferences. Scottie Rodgers, the NCAA's assistant director for the championship, said officials were monitoring the weather.

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