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Home > SECWB News & More! > SEC Teams > Mississippi State > Vanderbilt Chomps Mississippi State Bulldogs
Vanderbilt Chomps Mississippi State Bulldogs
by LeAnne Harrington, SECWB.com
Posted: January 14th, 2008 @ 9:36pm
Source: View Boxscore
The Vanderbilt Commodores began SEC play on Thursday night, January 10 with a solid win over Mississippi State, chomping the Bulldogs by a score of 72-51. The Commodores, who have been plagued by inconsistency in the non-conference portion of the season, seem to have found the most productive combination of players to go with, and it is a young but talented lineup that hit the court against the Bulldogs. With a starting lineup consisting of two freshmen, a sophomore, and two juniors, it is sophomore Merideth Marsh who has been the "go-to" Commodore of late, and this game was no exception. Called on to take over the point when freshman Jence Rhoads got slightly rattled early on the season, Marsh has been moved to shooting guard and asked to produce points now that Rhoads is back as the starter at point. Marsh took the responsibility seriously, leading the way for the 'Dores with 15 points. And although Vandy is starting a young squad, the three other double-figure scorers were all upperclassmen. Jen Risper knocked down 13 points, followed by Christina Wirth with 12 and Liz Sherwood with 11.
Marsh scored 8 of Vanderbilt's first 10 points, and the Commodores went out to a comfortable 12-point lead. Mississippi State fought back and cut the lead to seven, but VU scored 4 straight to lead by 11 at the half. The two squads traded buckets through the first eight minutes of the second half before Vandy broke the game open by going on an 18-4 run. Mississippi State was never able to mount a serious threat after that. MSU was led in scoring by Alexis Rack's 17 points, but the Bulldogs were held to just 29% shooting from the field.
When asked about being moved to shooting guard, Marsh responded that she actually preferred the point guard position, stating, " I'd rather have a million assists than a million points any day," but Marsh understands this is where she's needed at this time. Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb likes the freshman Rhoads and sophomore Jessica Mooney at point because each is capable of pushing the tempo. Likewise, freshman Hannah Tuomi has been inserted into the starting lineup to providea spark on the boards, and senior Liz Sherwood comes in off the bench to give instant offense. This is a combination that has worked for the past two non-conference games, and it seemed to work in this conference opener.
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