Feb. 18, 2009
TV:FSN South | Radio: 560 AM
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RELATED LINKS: Lyme Out | Vote for Wirth – Senior CLASS Award | Game Notes
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The top two teams in the Southeastern Conference will face off on Thursday night when the 18th-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team plays host to third-ranked Auburn.
Add to the weight of the match-up a Commodore senior night — the final appearance in Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium for Christina Wirth, Jennifer Risper and Amy Malo — and the stage is set for quite a game Thursday.
FSN South will broadcast the league tilt, which is scheduled to tip-off at 8 p.m. CT.
The Commodores (20-6, 9-2 SEC) are looking to go undefeated at home in conference play for the first time since 1991. Vanderbilt has already claimed a pair of wins over Top 10 teams, knocking off then-No. 7 Tennessee on Jan. 11 before beating then-No. 9 Florida a week ago.
Vanderbilt is led by Wirth, the reigning SEC Player of the Week. She has scored 20-or-more points in each of the past three games. Wirth barely edged out junior Merideth Marsh for the weekly honor after Marsh tied a school record with eight three’s against Florida and followed that up with 18 points in the win over Georgia.
Auburn (25-1, 10-1 SEC) has won five straight after suffering its only loss of the season at Georgia. Senior DeWanna Bonner averages 21.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, and is a candidate for national Player of the Year honors.
Vanderbilt has won 13 straight games in the series dating back through the 2001 season.
The Commodores will honor the graduating class of 2008 — Wirth, Jennifer Risper and Amy Malo — in a ceremony following Thursday’s game.
The contest also has been designated as Lyme Disease Awareness Night, and fans are encouraged to wear green in support of Commodore sophomore Rebecca Silinski. Silinski was diagnosed with Lyme Disease in December and her sister Kaitlyn has struggled with the illness for the past year.