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No. 11 Vanderbilt Hits the Road for Western Kentucky to Take on LadyToppers 12-9-04 12/9/2004 No. 11 Vanderbilt takes to the road for its second trip consecutive trip away from Memorial Gymnasium. The Commodores head to Bowling Green, Ky. to face Western Kentucky at 7 p.m. at E.A. Diddle Arena Thursday night. Vanderbilt is ranked No. 11 in the ESPN/USA Today/WBCA coaches poll and No. 14 in the Associated Press Poll this week. Vanderbilt remained undefeated after downing Memphis and Miami (Ohio) last week. The Commodores shot .519 as a team last week averaging 94.5 points per game. Defensively, VU forced 57 turnovers and recorded 33 steals in the two games. Senior forward Ashley Earley averaged 21.5 points and 12.0 rebounds per game last week while sophomore point guard Dee Davis averaged 19.5 points and 6.5 assists in the two games. Against Memphis, six Commodores scored in double figures led by Davis’ 21 points, which matched her career-high as Vanderbilt cruised to a 96-54 win. Earley added 18 points while sophomore Carla Thomas had 16 points. Katie Antony and Cherish Stringfield each finished with 12 points while junior Nicole Jules scored a career-high 10 points to round out the scoring. Vanderbilt shot 51.6 percent in the game, forced 29 turnovers and picked up 16 steals. Vanderbilt had similarly success against Miami (Ohio) last Saturday. Earley scored a career-high 25 points and tallied a season-high 15 rebounds for her third double-double of the season and No. 13 Vanderbilt opened the second half with a 19-0 run on its way to a 93-50 win on the road over the Redhawks. Thomas registered her first double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Davis, a Cincinnati native, returned to her home-state and posted her third career double-double with 18 points and 10 assists. VU shot 52.2 percent in the win over Miami (Ohio), forced 28 turnovers and picked up 17 steals. On the season, the Commodores are forcing teams into 29.8 turnovers per game, registering 16 steals per outing and scoring 89.3 points per game. VU has a +42.8 scoring margin while shooting 53 percent from the field including 37.3 from three-point range. Western Kentucky returns home for its third game in front of the home crowd and its only game in the month of December at home. The Lady Toppers fell to nationally ranked Louisiana Tech, 73-60, in their last outting. Freshman forward Crystal Kelly scored a game-high 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting and added 13 rebounds for a double-double against the Lady Techsters. Cacie Pope chipped in 10 points. The Lady Toppers trailed 39-25 at halftime, but outscored Louisiana Tech, 35-34 in the second half. Kelly leads the team averaging 18 ppg and 8.4 rpg while shooting a team-best .714 from the field. Junior guard Tiffany Porter-Talbert also averages 18.0 ppg. As a team, Western Kentucky has a +9.4 scoring margin while scoring 78.8 points per game. The Lady Toppers have registered wins over UAB (92-50) and Austin Peay (89-50), but have fallen to Charlotte (74-91), Arkansas (79-83) and Louisiana Tech (60-73). Last time against Western Kentucky, then-No. 3 Vanderbilt shot 71.4 percent from the field, hitting 35-of-49 , including 12-of-19 from 3-point range, in a 102-83 win over Western Kentucky in Bowling Green on Nov. 21, 2001. All five starters scored in double figures for the Commodores. VU totaled 32 assists, with Ashley McElhiney tying a career-high with 12. Chantelle Anderson scored 24 points while Zuzi Klimesova scored 20 points. Jillian Danker and McElhiney each poured in 15 points. Jenni Benningfield had 11 points.Vanderbilt shot 77.3 percent in the second half. VU leads the all-time series, 14-11. The Commodores won the last time the two teams met in Bowling Green, Ky. during the 2001-02 season, 102-83. Vanderbilt has won six of the last seven meetings with the Lady Toppers. The Commodores return home Sunday to host Saint Louis at 2 p.m. inside Memorial Gymnasium. |
