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Home > SECWB News & More! > Our Staff & Contributors > LeAnne Harrington > Vanderbilt Hands Duke Their Second Straight Loss
Vanderbilt Hands Duke Their Second Straight Loss
by LeAnne Harrington, SECWB.com
Posted: November 29th, 2007 @ 12:27am
Source: View Box Score
The Vanderbilt Commodores, behind the spectacular play of sophomore guard Jessica Mooney, handed Duke their second straight loss, beating the Blue Devils 68-55. Duke had lost to Connecticut in the finals of the US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam on Sunday, Nov.25, and the loss to Vanderbilt marks the first back-to-back losses Duke has suffered since 2000. This was Vanderbilt’s first win over Duke since 1982. Just like Vandy’s loss to Duke last year at Cameron Indoor, the final score is not indicative of just how close this game actually was. The score was tied 6 times, and there were 8 lead changes in the game.
Duke got off to another slow start, committing 5 turnovers on their first five possessions, but they got on track and led the Commodores by as many as 9 in the first half. Each time it looked as if Duke would go up by a comfortable double-digit lead, Vanderbilt would come storming back to keep it close. Duke led 33-30 at the half, with Abby Waner scoring 8 and Chante Black tallying 6 in the first 20 minutes for the Blue Devils. Vanderbilt committed 11 first half turnovers, but Duke did them one better, committing 12 of their own. The second half was a tight battle, with neither team able to put much distance between themselves and their opponent. With 6:49 left in the game, Duke clung to a two-point lead, 52-50, and then Jessica Mooney almost single-handedly took over the game. Mooney, who lost her starting job two games ago, hit a three at the 6:01 mark to put Vandy up 53-52, and the Commodores never trailed again. From that point on, the Commodores outscored the Blue Devils 15-2. In that final 6 minutes, Mooney scored the go-ahead 3-pointer, had five rebounds (two of those on the offensive board), grabbed a steal, and hit 7-of-8 free throws.
Mooney finished the game with a career-high 16 points to lead all scorers in the game and grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds, while junior Christina Wirth added 15 for Vanderbilt. Duke was led by Chante Black’s double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Jasmine Thomas came off the bench to lead all Duke scorers with 12. Abby Waner, who scored 8 in the first half for Duke, was limited to 9 points for the game.
Vanderbilt committed only 3 turnovers in the second half, but Duke continued to cough up the ball, adding another 12 to finish with 24 turnovers for the game. Vanderbilt had entered tonight’s game shooting 52.4% from the field, but their hot hands cooled somewhat in this game, connecting on only 38.8% from the field. But Vandy continued to heat it up from behind the arc, hitting 8-of-16 for a 50% pace from 3-point land. Vanderbilt’s free-throw shooting, which has been a plague to them through much of this season, was much-improved tonight; they 22-of-30 from the charity stripe for 73.3%.
I’m not in the habit of naming individual game MVPs, but Jessica Mooney gets my vote in this one. Mooney always plays at a hundred miles an hour, and it had gotten her into trouble the last few games, where she had been plagued by erratic play and too many turnovers. But tonight, she proved she can take over a game and provide that spark that leads to victory. Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb had this to say about Mooney: “She creates havoc. She makes people go fast and that creates offense. She created offense off her defense tonight and that is what we are looking for her to do. Duke is a team you have to attack and Jessica did that tonight." Mooney was gracious in her post-game comments, stating, “I just want to help my team whatever way I can when I get out on the court. It doesn't matter if I'm coming off the bench or starting as long as we get a win, that is what matters."
For their next two games, Vanderbilt hits the long road to the coast, where they will face St. Mary’s on Saturday, Dec.1 and then play the #13 Cal Golden Bears on Sunday, Dec.2 in Berkeley, CA.
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