'Dores lose in Knoxville

Jan. 15, 2012

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 25/24 Vanderbilt women’s basketball team played No. 6/7 Tennessee close for the first half, trailing 39-36 at the break, before the Lady Volunteers pulled away for 87-64 win. The Commodores fell to 14-3, 2-2 in SEC play. The Lady Vols improved to 13-4, 4-1 in league action.

Sophomore guard Christina Foggie led the Vanderbilt effort, scoring 27 points on 8-16 shooting and 5-12 from three. Vanderbilt also got 14 points from Tiffany Clarke, as well as nine points and five assists from Jasmine Lister.

Tennessee was led by 20 points from Shekinna Stricklen. Vicki Baugh and Glory Johnson each added 16 points and Meighan Simmons contributed 10. Johnson recorded a double-double, grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds.

The teams traded leads through the first half, with Vandy leading by as much as four and Tennessee leading by as much as nine. Every time it looked like the Lady Vols would pull away, the Commodores would make a run.

They closed the gap to three at the break after Foggie hit back-to-back threes. Vanderbilt Head Coach Melanie Balcomb was pleased with her team’s composure in the first half.

“I felt good about our guards,” Balcomb said. “Their composure in this atmosphere and we got some promising play from them. I especially liked how calm they were in the first half.”

Vanderbilt also got strong play from redshirt sophomore center Stephanie Holzer, who scored eight first half points while coming off the bench for the first time this season.

Foul trouble was a major issue for Vanderbilt. Clarke, making her first start of the season, had to sit the final 14 minutes of the first half after picking-up two quick fouls.

Clarke then picked up two more fouls in the first 1:17 of the second half and Holzer fouled out for the second time this season with 8:07 to play. Clarke played the final 11:02 without picking up her fifth foul.

Vanderbilt committed 15 second-half turnovers, helping the Lady Vols outscore them 48-28.

The Commodores return to action on Thursday, January 19, when they travel to Arkansas. Tipoff in Fayetteville, Ark., is set for 7:00 p.m.