Nov. 30, 2006
Box Score | “Pink Out” This Sunday | Season Tickets Start at $25
Melanie Balcomb picked up her 100th victory at VU Thursday night; Dee Davis dished out a career-high 12 assists.
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Senior forward Carla Thomas helped the 12th-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team turn a close game at UAB into an 85-63 victory Thursday night at Bartow Arena.
In the process, Head Coach Melanie Balcomb earned her 100th career victory at Vanderbilt. Balcomb has won 73% of her 137 games since moving to Nashville prior to the 2002-03 season.
Thomas scored 32 points — one shy of her career high — and added 11 rebounds, posting her first double-double of the season and the 10th of her career.
Senior point guard Dee Davis, the Southeastern Conference leader in assists, dished out a career-high 12 helpers as Vanderbilt (7-0) outscored UAB, 51-28, in the second half.
Britney Jones led the Blazers with 19 points, while Diamond Rogers had 16 and Carmen Guzman added 15.
Winless UAB (0-6) hung tough with the visiting Commodores into the second half. The game was last tied at the 15:35 mark of the second half before a jumper by senior Caroline Williams gave Vanderbilt the lead for good.
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WEAR PINK this Sunday as the Commodores take on Clemson in Memorial Gym at 4 p.m. CT. |
Thomas led all scorers with 16 points in the first half, shooting 6-of-8 from the floor. Thomas’ only two misses of the first half came on the first two three-point attempts of her VU career; entering Thursday’s game, Thomas had attempted 970 shots as a Commodore.
Aside from Thomas, the Commodores made only six of 17 first-half field goal attempts. UAB turned scored 15 points in the first half off of 12 VU turnovers, helping the Blazers take a 35-34 lead into the half.
Freshman Lauren Lueders scored six points in her first career start, hitting 2-of-4 three-point attempts. Sophomore Jennifer Risper missed her first game of the season. Risper is expected to miss about a week with a knee injury.
Vanderbilt returns home this weekend to play host to Clemson on Sunday, Dec. 3, at Memorial Gymnasium.
The nationally televised game (4 p.m. CT, ESPN2) has been designated a “Pink Out” to benefit the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Everyone in attendance is invited to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness, and pink rally towels will be given out prior to the contest.
Tickets for Sunday’s game are $5, and can be purchased via phone (615-322-GOLD), on the Internet (http://vucommodores.com) or at the McGugin Center Box Office (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.).
