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Vanderbilt Loses at Alabama 81-68 2-8-04 2/8/2004 On Sunday afternoon in a rough, foul-plagued contest at the Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the Vanderbilt Commodores (16-6/4-5 SEC) suffered an 81-68 setback to the Alabama Crimson Tide (11-11/3-6 SEC) to extend their Southeastern Conference losing skein to three games. Freshman forward Carla Thomas once again led the Black and Gold in scoring with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor. The Mechanicsburg, Pa., native has reached double-digits in seven of Vanderbilt’s nine SEC games and has averaged 19 points and 5.7 rebounds in the ‘Dores’ last three contests. Seniors Jenni Benningfield and Hillary Hager each tallied 11 points, while junior forward Ashley Earley was the only other Commodore player to reach double-figures with 10 tallies.
It was a game of runs as Alabama raced out of the locker room to post a 12-4 advantage behind two consecutive three-pointers by Manisha Redus. Vanderbilt would answer as buckets by Benningfield, Earley and freshman point guard Dee Davis keyed a 10-0 Commodore spurt to give VU its first lead of the afternoon at 14-12 with 13:10 showing on the first half clock.
The Black and Gold advantage would eventually reach 23-16 following a three-pointer from junior Abi Ramsey and a single free throw by Thomas before the Crimson Tide answered with a 16-2 run over the next 5:52 to dart back in front 33-25.
VU closed out the half with a 9-3 spurt as the Commodores clawed within two points at 36-34 heading into the locker room.
In the first 20 minutes of action, Vanderbilt shot a blistering 61.1 percent on 11-of-18 shooting from the floor and outrebounded the Tide 17-14. However, VU was undone by 16 turnovers, which Alabama converted into 22 points. The two teams combined for an incredible 27 personal fouls in the first frame and went to the charity stripe 32 times (VU 11-17, UA 8-15).
The second half opened much like Vanderbilt’s matchup on Thursday night against #16/14 Georgia (15-2 Lady Bulldog spurt) as the Commodores allowed the Tide to go on a 17-2 run to open the stanza. Monique Bivins totaled 11 of her game-high 23 points over the first 4:20 of the second half as the Crimson and White hit four three-pointers to roar to a 53-36 advantage.
Vanderbilt began to claw its way back behind a three-pointer from Cherish Stringfield, a jumper by Benningfield and four consecutive VU free throws to get within 59-48 with 10:11 showing on the clock. However, buckets by UA’s Natasha Gamble and Lauren Hill boosted Alabama’s lead back to 15 points at 67-52.
With 4:11 remaining, the Black and Gold had their best chance to mount a late rally as consecutive buckets by Earley and Hager drew VU within six points at 69-63 with 2:34 to play. However, a Stringfield trey attempt that would have cut the deficit to just three points drew the front of the iron and UA grabbed the board.
A Bivins jumper and six consecutive free throws by Alabama moved the Tide ahead 77-63 and put the game out of the reach for the Commodores.
Vanderbilt had won the last four meetings between the squads, including the last two matchups in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide now leads the overall series in Alabama 7-6, and has taken five of the last eight games contested on the UA campus. |
