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Home > SECWB News & More! > Our Staff & Contributors > LeAnne Harrington > Vandy Splits a Pair on the West Coast
Vandy Splits a Pair on the West Coast
by LeAnne Harrington, SECWB.com
Posted: December 5th, 2007 @ 10:21pm
Source: View Box Score
The Vanderbilt Commodores, fresh off their upset of Duke on Wednesday, Nov.28, traveled to Berkeley, CA this past weekend to play in the Contra Costa Times Classic. They faced the St. Mary’s Gaels in the first round on Saturday, Dec.1, winning that game by a score of 90-69. Vanderbilt then faced the California Golden Bears (#12 AP, #13 ESPN/USA Today) in the tournament final on Sunday afternoon, Dec.2, and dropped that decision 67-59. The trip to California highlighted at least a couple of things: Vanderbilt is still playing inconsistently, and coach Melanie Balcomb is still searching for the right combination of Commodores to get the job done.
In their game against St. Mary’s, the Commodores were plagued by turnovers, committing 20 for the game, but still managed to post a solid win against an overmatched team. It was a game of scoring runs by both teams, with St. Mary’s leading Vanderbilt by six early in the first half. The Gaels were up 25-24 at the 9:30 mark in the first half when the Commodores went on a 20-0 run to break the game open, and Vandy went into halftime with a comfortable 44-29 lead. Vandy led by as many as 28 in the second half, but instead of throwing in the towel, the Gaels put together a mini-run of their own, outscoring the Commodores 18-4 to pull within 78-64 with 4:35 remaining. But that was as close as Saint Mary's got. Vanderbilt had five scorers in double figures, led by junior Christina Wirth’s 18 points and 6 rebounds. Junior Jen Risper chipped in 12 and pulled down 7 boards, while Liz Sherwood also scored 12. Sophomore Lauren Lueders, inserted back into the starting lineup, scored 13, and Jessica Mooney continued her stellar play off the bench, tallying 12 points in 13 minutes of action.
In the finals against Cal on Sunday, the Commodores struggled offensively, shooting a season-low 33% from the field. They fell behind early, trailing Cal 36-19 at the half, but mounted a furious comeback in the second, cutting the Golden Bears’ lead to six, but it was too little, too late, as only :35 remained in the game. Only one Commodore scored in double digits, with sophomore Merideth Marsh scoring 12. Juniors Christina Wirth and Jen Risper were named to the all-tournament team.
Vanderbilt returns to action at home on Thursday, Dec.6 when they host the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Game time is set for 7 pm CST at Memorial Gym.
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