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Commodores Travel To Face Lady Dawgs Sunday on ESPN2
2/26/2005
No. 19 Vanderbilt heads to Athens, Ga., to take on No. 18 Georgia in a rematch of the 2004 Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship game. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. (EST)/1 p.m. (CST).
The winner of the game will enter next week’s SEC Tournament as the No. 3 seed while the loser will enter as the No. 4 seed.
No. 19 Vanderbilt has won seven of its last eight games. The Commodores rallied to defeat Alabama on Senior night Thursday night, 64-53. Sophomore guard Dee Davis scored a game-high 23 points, one-point shy of her career-high, and Carla Thomas has 14 points. Ashley Earley posted her league-leading 12th double-double against Alabama with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Caroline Williams scored 12 points for VU. Vandy has been playing well as a team in the last eight games. VU is shooting 49.5 percent from the field. Earley has been averaging 18.5 points and 10.9 rebounds while Thomas has been averaging 17.9 points and Abi Ramsey has been chipping 12.9 points. Ramsey needs just 13 points to become the 25th player in VU history to score 1,000 points.
SCOUTING THE GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS
No. 18 Georgia (21-7, 4-8 SEC) knocked off Florida on the road, 63-38, Thursday night and has won five of its last six games. Junior guard Sherill Baker scored a game-high 19 points and Cori Chambers came off the bench to score 15 points including five three-pointers. Georgia shot 59.3 percent in the second half and the Lady Dogs held Florida to 13.6 percent from the field in the second half. UGA’s leading scorer, freshman Tasha Humphrey did not play, but is expected to return to the line-up against Vanderbilt. Humphrey averages 19.2 points and 8.3 rebounds. She has posted 11 double-doubles on the season. Chambers ranks second on the team averaging 13.4 points while Baker is the other player in double figures (11.4 points). The Bulldogs have wins over Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina, Clemson and Florida in the last six games. Their lone loss was at Ole Miss.
WRAPPING UP THE BYE
With the win over Alabama Thursday, the Commodores assured themselves of a first-round bye in this week’s SEC Tournament. Sunday’s game with Georgia will decide the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in next week’s tournament.
THE GEORGIA SERIES
This will be the 44th meeting between Vanderbilt and Georgia on the basketball court. Georgia leads the all-time series, 26-16. The Commodores are 1-1 under Melanie Balcomb against Georgia.Vanderbilt won the last meeting between the two teams. VU and Georgia met in last season’s SEC Tournament Championship game. Vandy knocked off Georgia, 62-56, to split last season’s two games.
LAST TIME AGAINST GEORGIA
Carla Thomas had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Vanderbilt (No. 21 AP) rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half Sunday for a 62-56 win over Georgia (No. 16 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP) in the championship game of the Southeastern Conference tournament. The Commodores won their fourth title and first since 2002.
UP NEXT FOR THE COMMODORES
Vandy will head to Greenville, S.C. for the 2005 SEC Tournament. The Commodores will play next Friday at either 7 p.m. or 9:15 p.m.
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