Jan. 3, 2008
More Coverage: Vanderbilt 75 South Florida 48
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| Tuomi made the most of her first collegiate start, coming just one rebound shy of her first career double-double with 11 points and nine boards. |
Heading into Wednesday night’s game with South Florida, women’s basketball head coach Melanie Balcomb pinpointed Vanderbilt’s lack of intensity as one of the main reasons for the Commodores disappointing 80-65 loss to No. 23 Old Dominion just a few days earlier.
Yes, there was reason for concern in the Commodore Nation after the defeat sent Vanderbilt out of the Top 25 rankings for the first time this season. That loss marked Vanderbilt’s third defeat in five games, prompting Balcomb to hint at changes in playing time based on the positive performance of a few freshmen during the closing minutes.
So it wasn’t much of a surprise when Balcomb rewarded freshman Hannah Tuomi with her first-career start Wednesday against the Bulls. Freshman Jence Rhoads also earned a spot on the floor at tip-off for the first time since late-November, making it the first time two freshman had started for the ‘Dores since the 2003-04 season, when point guard Dee Davis and forward Carla Thomas were both in the lineup.
In addition, freshman Chanel Chisholm served as the first substitution off the bench only four minutes into the game due to her effort against ODU.
“Those three have been working very, very hard, especially in practice,” Balcomb stated Wednesday night after Vanderbilt’s impressive 75-48 win over South Florida. “We just wanted to give them a shot and give them a chance. They had earned that opportunity. The effort’s there and the effort is inspiring. They’re fearless as well as being confident.”
Even with what fans in attendance may have termed a “sloppy” first half for the Commodores against the Bulls — 18 turnovers, 33 percent shooting from the field and 10 team fouls early on to put USF in the double bonus — there was no sign of a lack of effort that plagued Vanderbilt in Sunday’s loss.
The Commodores played inspired defense right out of the gates, holding red-hot South Florida, winners of nine straight, to just six field goals in the first half including just 17 percent (2-12) from behind the three-point arc. Vanderbilt limited standouts Shantia Grace and Jessica Lawson to only ten combined points for the game, most of which came after the contest was out of reach.
“There’s been a huge emphasis on defense because that’s an effort skill,” said Balcomb. “Our emphasis has been effort. Defense and rebounding has been a key. The rebounding margin of 58 to 23 is exactly what we were looking for. That’s one of the defensive skills we’ve been focusing on.”
Vanderbilt let its defensive intensity in the first half translate into offensive fireworks to open the second half by putting together a 21-5 run en route to the victory.
“We played so hard on defense and rebounding in the first half, that we couldn’t relax on the offensive end. After we wore ourselves down a little bit, our offense and shooting looked better.”
Tuomi provided the spark Balcomb was looking for by recording the best game of her young career, finishing one rebound shy of her first double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
Sophomore Merideth Marsh, who had a career night as well with 19 points on 5-of-5 shooting from long range, was quick to compliment the freshmen on their impact in the victory.
“Jence (Rhoads) did a great job of being unselfish by dishing the ball to other players at the point,” Marsh stated. “I had so much fun seeing Chanel (Chisholm) and Hannah (Tuomi) coming in. They brought so much energy. They may be young and inexperienced, but they just go out there and bust their tails with effort.”
The win came just at the right time for the Commodores (10-4), who hit the road for one more non-conference matchup at Princeton this Saturday before opening SEC play January 10th against Mississippi State.
“We just had to do a self-check (after Old Dominion),” Marsh explained. “We really focused on building each other up on both sides of the floor during practice the last few days. I feel like tonight we keyed on that positive energy and hopefully we can keep that going.”
