After a victory against rival Alabama, the Tigers can now officially began thinking about defending national champion Tennessee, although it appeared for most of the first half Thursday they were doing that anyway.

Auburn (19-0, 4-0 SEC) looked sluggish for most of the first half against an inferior Alabama team, going into halftime with just a 39-36 lead. But the Tigers turned it on in the second half, pulling away for an 18-point victory.

Were the Tigers looking ahead?

"As much as we wanted to say it's Alabama, it's Alabama, for this team, I"m sure maybe Tennessee was looming in the back of their heads," Auburn head coach Nell Fortner said. "I know we worked hard to prepare them for this game and focus them on this game, but kids are kids. And sometimes it takes a little bit more get them focused. And the halftime score got them a little more focused."

Forward DeWanna Bonner may have said it better: "You can’t help but think about it. It’s Tennessee for God’s sake."

This sets up Saturday's Mega-Showdown with the No. 10 Lady Vols, what Fortner called the biggest game of her Auburn tenure.

The Tigers have never beaten Tennessee under Fortner's watch and have never had a better opportunity. Though they are the defending national champions, the Lady Vols are young. They already have three losses this year. But it is Tennessee. And that means a heck of a lot in the women's college basketball world.

Tip-off Sunday at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum is at 3 p.m. EST.

Some other thoughts from Thursday's game ...

• Auburn wouldn't have won if not for Bonner, who scored 19 of her game-high 24 points during the first half. She was the lone Tigers offensive highlight and the Crimson Tide didn't have an answer for her.

• Sherell Hobbs had a Jekyll-and-Hyde game, going scoreless in the first half before scoring 15 points in the second half. I feel she's the X-factor on this team. When she's playing well, this is a tough team to beat.

• Whitney Boddie quietly reaches double digits in assists in every game. She had 12 Thursday to go with 12 points. Auburn, in fact, had 25 assists for its 34 baskets.

• Alli Smalley was another player who stepped up, hitting three 3-pointers when nobody else on the team was connecting from long range.

• Got to give Alabama (12-8, 0-5 SEC) some credit in this one. The Crimson Tide went 5-for-9 from 3-point range. It had made only five 3-pointers in its previous three games.

• Auburn shot 74 percent in the second half (17-for-23). Nobody's beating this team if it shoots 74 percent in a half.

• For those historians, Auburn is 19-0 for the third time in school history, matching the 1986-87 team. The 1988-89 squad remains the standard bearer with its 28-0 start.