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Home > SECWB News & More! > NCAA Tournament > Vandy Gets the Rust Out
Vandy Gets the Rust Out
by LeAnne Harrington
Posted: March 19th, 2007 @ 1:52am
After coming off an impressive showing in the SEC Tournament and securing a #2 seed in the Greensboro region, the Vanderbilt Commodores had a 14 day layoff. And did it ever show. Taking on the #15 seed Delaware State Lady Hornets proved to be all the Commodores could handle, with the pesky Lady Hornets sticking with the ’Dores for about three quarters of this first round matchup. Thankfully, Vandy shook off the rust and put a little shine back in their game, beating the Hornets by a score of 62-47. The final margin is not indicative of how close this game really was.
Ed Davis refused to make excuses for his Delaware State team. They didn’t need any. In a trip that should have taken little more than a few hours, a snowstorm in the northeast delayed the Lady Hornets at the Philadelphia airport, where they spent the night in chairs, on benches and sleeping on the floor using warmups as pillows. Almost 24 hours later, the team finally made their way to East Lansing, MI, where they had already missed their first scheduled practice. Quite a dubious beginning to their first-ever trip to the Big Dance. “We were not going to use the airport situation as an excuse,” said coach Davis, adding, “We were here and we came to play.” And play they did. Using a defense that resembled the one LSU used against Vandy in the SEC Tournament finals, Delaware State was rewarded with the same type of result: they took Vanderbilt out of their 3-point game. The Commodores, the nation’s leading 3-point shooting team, hit just one shot from behind the arc in the first half, a trey by freshman Jessica Mooney to end the first 20 minutes of play. At the half, Vandy clung to a 28-24 lead. Vanderbilt attempted only 15 shots in the first half, connecting on 8 of them. Delaware State also made 8 first half shots, but they attempted 26.
The second half looked to be a repeat of the first, with Delaware State keeping the game close and never allowing Vandy to get too far out of reach. At the 8:50 mark, the Commodores only held a 43-40 lead. But give credit to Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb and her staff. Making the necessary adjustments, the Commodores finally came to life, stretching the lead to as many as 17 points. Vanderbilt sophomore Christina Wirth led the Commodores with 17 points, and senior Carla Thomas, named Player of the Game, added 16. Connecticut transfer Liz Sherwood came off the bench to add 12. Vanderbilt shot 64% from the floor, connecting on 13 of 18 shots in the second half. Delaware State was held to 33% field goal shooting for the game.
In her postgame ESPN interview, Balcomb alluded to her team’s intelligence and total belief in whatever adjustments she and her coaching staff asks them to make. “Whatever we ask them to do, they go out there and make it happen.” Balcomb also stated, “I really liked our composure. We got the rust out.” Indeed they did. Vanderbilt’s second round opponent is Bowling Green, a 70-66 winner over Oklahoma State.
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