|
Home > SECWB News & More! > SEC Teams > Vanderbilt > Vanderbilt vs. Furman Preview
Vanderbilt vs. Furman Preview
by LeAnne Harrington, SECWB.com
Posted: November 10th, 2007 @ 4:32pm
The Vanderbilt Commodores (#23 AP poll, #17 USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll) are set to host the Furman Lady Paladins on Sunday afternoon, Nov.11. Vanderbilt (1-0), fresh off their decisive dismantling of UAB on Friday evening by a score of 92-51, will jump back into action against a Southern Conference foe. Furman, who ended their 2006-2007 season with an 11-20 record, are picked to finish 9th in conference play this season. This will be the season opener for Furman and is the first ever meeting between the two schools.
Probable starters for Furman are: guard Chrissie Phelps, a 5’7” senior who averaged 10.2 ppg and 3.9 rpg last season; 6’ junior forward Courtney Opie (5.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg); 6’4” junior center Katie Johnson (4.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg); 6’ junior guard Sarah Baker (5.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg); and 5’11” sophomore guard Kali Holtfreter (6.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg). The top player off the bench will probably be Melissa Liebschwager, a 5’11” junior guard who was the leading scorer with 15 points in Furman’s exhibition win over North Greenville on Nov. 2. Furman returns 11 letter winners and 4 starters from last year’s squad.
Probable starters for Vanderbilt are: 6’4” senior center Liz Sherwood, who scored 13 and pulled down 9 rebounds in VU’s first game; 6’1” junior forward Christina Wirth (12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists); 5’9” junior guard Jen Risper (8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals); 5’8” sophomore guard Jessica Mooney (6 points, 3 rebounds); and 5’10” freshman Jence Rhoads, who got the starting nod at point guard in the first game of the season. Rhoads struggled from the field, scoring only 2 points on 1-for-8 shooting, but she ran the point well, leading the team with 5 assists while only committing 1 turnover. Look for Merideth Marsh to get some good minutes off the bench; she scored 13 points in 17 minutes of action against UAB.
My prediction is, unless Furman comes prepared to shut down the entire Vanderbilt team, look for this to be another Vanderbilt mastery of an overmatched opponent. Early indications are this Commodore team is one of the most well-balanced in recent memory; they can hurt an opponent from any position on the court. They are unselfish players who like to spread the wealth, as evidenced by their 18 assists against UAB, and they’re having fun doing it. Despite the loss of Caroline Williams, who graduated as the most accurate 3-point shooter in SEC history, Vanderbilt is looking to repeat as the nation’s leading 3-point shooting team. Their stats against UAB prove they are on the right track; Vandy burned the Blazers for 30 points on 10 of 21 shooting from behind the arc. But instead of relying heavily on a single sharp-shooter as they did last season, Vandy had 4 players hit from downtown in their opening game. VU coach Melanie Balcomb states: “One of the things is just figuring out where, when and how. We're still going to shoot the three and we're still going to spread the floor. It's going to be by committee more than anything."
Special game notes: Furman will probably have a vocal following in Memorial Gym, with 2 of their 5 starters hailing from the Nashville area. Junior Sarah Baker is from Nashville, having prepped at Harpeth Hall, and sophomore Kali Holtfreter is from nearby Hendersonville, where she played for the Hendersonville High School Lady Commandos. In addition, junior Melissa Liebschwager hails from Memphis, TN where she played high school ball at Briarcrest Christian.
Fun fact: For those who are wondering, “Paladin” is a term which was first used in ancient Rome to denote the imperial palace guard. It was later used to refer to high-level officials in numerous countries of medieval and early modern Europe. Just so you know…
Game time is set for 2 pm CST at Memorial Gym.
|
|
|
|
