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No. 22 Vanderbilt Falls at Florida 67-61 1-11-04 1/11/2004 On Sunday afternoon, in front of the ninth largest crowd in Florida women’s basketball history (3,303), the 22nd-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores suffered a 67-61 defeat to the homestanding Florida Gators. VU’s record now stands at 13-2 overall and 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference, while UF improved to 11-4 and 1-1 in the SEC. Junior guard Abi Ramsey led the Black and Gold with 20 points and connected on six three-pointers, while senior forward Hillary Hager (11 points , 10 rebounds and 3-4 from behind the arc) and junior forward Ashley Earley (10 points and 10 boards) both posted double-doubles. Earley’s double-double was her sixth of the campaign, and her third in the last four VU contests. Freshman Jenn Hall totaled eight points and five rebounds in just 13 minutes on the floor. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?> On the afternoon, the Commodores shot 43.4% from the floor and a sparkling 10-of-16 from behind the arc for 62.5%, while holding the Gators to just 40.8% shooting. VU also outrebounded the Gators 40-29. However, the Black and Gold were undone by 24 turnovers (Florida scored 27 points off VU miscues) as UF pilfered 18 steals. Gator senior center Vanessa Hayden posted 22 points, 11 rebounds and was credited with seven of the Gators nine blocked shots. The Gators had a pronounced advantage at the free throw line as UF made 21-of-30 attempts, while VU was only 5-of-10 from the charity stripe. “I thought our freshmen did great today,” said Vanderbilt Head Coach Melanie Balcomb. “However, we needed our upperclassmen to step up a little more in the first half. I think Florida did a solid job of getting to the free throw line. We needed to do a better job of taking care of the ball, since we were forced into a lot of turnovers. But we are a very, very young team playing in our first SEC road game in front of a hostile crowd, so we will learn from this experience. We did some things well today, just not enough of them to win.” UF came out of the locker room firing as the Gators’ Tashia Morehead and Hayden scored the first five points of the contest as the Blue and Orange roared out to a 5-0 lead. Earley finally got Vanderbilt on the board at the 16:00 mark, and was followed by freshman Carla Thomas with a lay-in as VU got within 8-4. Dalila Eshe hit a bucket for UF, but Ramsey scored five consecutive Commodore points as VU cut the deficit to just two at 11-9. Florida would answer the brief ‘Dore spurt with a 9-5 run to race out to a 20-14 lead before three consecutive three-pointers (two by Hager and one by freshman Caroline Williams) drew the Black and Gold even for the first time in the contest at 20-20. Six straight points by Hall gave VU its largest advantage of the game at 26-22 with 4:07 remaining in the opening stanza. Two buckets by Hayden, a Tishona Gregory three-pointer and two free throws by Morehead sent the teams to the locker room with Florida up 31-28. Out of the break, Earley got VU within 31-30, before Hayden scored seven straight for UF as the Gators moved out in front by five points at 39-34. A 10-2 Vanderbilt run behind two three-pointers from Ramsey, including one fed from a sprawling Jenni Benningfield in the lane, gave the Commodores a 44-41 lead with 10:01 to play in the game. However, Hayden ignited Florida on an 18-6 spurt for a 59-50 lead with 1:52 to go in the contest. Over the last 2:34, the Blue and White held off any VU rallies by going 9-of-12 from the free throw line. “I thought the turning point today was after we got a lead in the second half,” said Balcomb. “Florida called a timeout and they decided to go inside specifically to Hayden. We did all we could to stop her, but she was tough in the last six minutes.” Ramsey played on the remnants of a hyperextended right knee suffered in Thursday night’s game against UK, while also suffering a cut over her right eye in a collision in the second half against UF. Senior Jenni Benningfield and freshman Dee Davis continue to be hampered by foot injuries and saw seven combined minutes of action against the Gators (Benningfield six and Davis one). Vanderbilt will return to the hardwood next Sunday against the Auburn Tigers in a nationally-televised ESPN2 matchup with broadcasters Dave O’Brien and Nancy Lieberman. Tip-off at Memorial Gym is scheduled for 4:30 pm. |
