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Commodores Crack ESPN/USA TODAY Top 25 After SEC Title Run 3-9-04 3/9/2004 Black and Gold Rise From Unranked to #18 in the Nation The Vanderbilt women’s basketball squad entered this week’s ESPN/USA TODAY rankings at #18 following a stunning four-game run to nab the title at the 2004 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. The inclusion in the poll marks the Black and Gold’s first rating by the coaches since coming in at #22 in the Jan. 5 listing. The Commodores defeated Kentucky (60-41), #19/22 Auburn (76-74), #15/14 LSU (78-66) and #20/16 Georgia (62-56) in registering its fourth SEC Tournament title. VU is now a perfect 8-0 all-time at the Gaylord Entertainment Center, following last week’s spotless 4-0 record in the facility, and the ‘Dores have now won its last five matchups this season against ranked teams. Freshman Carla Thomas, an Associated Press All-SEC third-team member and a unanimous All-Freshman selection by the league’s coaches, was chosen as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after averaging 14.0 ppg and 8.5 rpg. In the championship game against the Lady Bulldogs, Thomas tallied 22 points and 11 rebounds to help the Commodores rally from an 18-point second half deficit to post a 62-56 victory. Senior forward Jenni Benningfield was named to both the Associated Press and Coaches’ All-SEC second teams after a season in which she has battled adversity and injury that limited her playing time. During the SEC Tournament, the Louisville, Ky., native again had to fight adversity after she contracted the flu prior to the second round meeting with AU. In the matchups against nationally-ranked Auburn and LSU, Benningfield shot at a blistering .739 clip on 17-of-23 shooting from the floor, while totaling 18 and 20 points, respectively in those two contests. Fresh off its Atlantic Coast Conference title, the Duke Blue Devils (34 first-place votes/994 points), regained the top spot in this week’s poll. Texas (five first-place votes/955 points) climbed two spots into second position to pass #3 Tennessee, who suffered an upset loss to Georgia in the SEC Tournament semifinals. Big Ten titlist Purdue rated fourth, while Connecticut fell from third to fifth after suffering a 73-70 defeat to #19 Boston College in the BIG EAST Tournament. Louisiana Tech (one first-place vote), Big Ten Tournament runner-up Penn State, Kansas State, Texas Tech and Pac-10 champ Stanford occupy positions 6-10, while North Carolina, Conference-USA titlist Houston, Colorado, Georgia and Baylor round out spots 10-15. LSU, TCU, Vanderbilt, who rose from being unranked last week to #18 this week, Boston College and Oklahoma sit in spots 16-20. Minnesota falls from 17th to #21 after a 58-50 defeat to Ohio State, while Auburn, DePaul, Miami, Fla., and Michigan State complete the top 25. |
