Auburn Auburn/PR Mayaguez . Women's College Basketball recap on ESPN

The Tigers (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 9 Associated Press) played tight matchup zone defense from the outset and were never challenged en route to beating Puerto Rico-Mayaguez 106-25 Sunday, making Ciampi just the 13th women's basketball coach to get 500 wins at one school.

Auburn led 61-14 at halftime.

"It's special. My players have been part of something really important. They've now become part of tradition," Ciampi said.

"Auburn has been a very special place for me and my family. It has been 21 years of hard work."

The 54-year-old Ciampi is 500-158 at Auburn, and 538-168 overall, including two seasons at Army.

Lory Neno scored 22 points to lead six Auburn players in double figures. Tasha Hamilton scored 15, Lakeisha Johnson 11, and Carol Smith, Nancy Derrick and Shana Askew each added 10.

Madelyn Ramirez led Puerto Rico-Mayaguez with 10 points.

Auburn (10-0) limited the Janes to only 16 field-goal attempts in the first half, and finished the game with 23 steals.

"We played great defense. We took care of the inside passing and we controlled the tempo of the game," Ciampi said. "Our offense was the direct result of our defense."

Auburn matched its best start ever, also accomplished in the 1996-97 season, and will try to reach 11-0 for the first time when it plays Nebraska on Monday.

ALSO SEE
Women's College Basketball Scoreboard

Auburn Clubhouse