Feb. 26, 2011
Vanderbilt Game Notes 
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Vanderbilt (18-10, 9-6 SEC) at South Carolina (16-12, 8-7 SEC)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Venue: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Radio: 560 AM (Charlie Mattos)
TV: SportSouth (Dave Neal, play-by-play, Sonya Beeler, analyst)
Webcast: ESPN3.com
Series: Vanderbilt leads 20-6
Last Meeting: February 28, 2010 (South Carolina 73 – Vanderbilt 70 (Nashville))
Coming off a heartbreaking defeat on Senior Night against Florida on Friday, Vanderbilt will have no time to sulk as it closes its regular season schedule with a quick two-day turnaround at South Carolina at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday at Colonial Life Arena.
With one game remaining, Vanderbilt’s seed for the upcoming SEC Tournament at Nashvillle’s Bridgestone Arena (March 3-6) is still very much in doubt. The Commodores can still finish anywhere from third to fifth in the SEC standings. The top four teams in the league receive a bye in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
The Commodores (18-10, 9-6 SEC) are faced with having only one day of preparation for South Carolina after their game against Florida was postponed on Thursday due to inclement weather and was not played until Friday evening. Despite the loss, Vanderbilt remains in fourth place, but South Carolina is nipping at its heels, just one game back. A Vanderbilt win Sunday assures the Commodores a bye in the SEC Tournament, while a loss could drop Vanderbilt to fifth place.
The only way Vanderbilt can lose and receive a bye is if there is a four-way tie between Vanderbilt, Auburn, LSU and South Carolina. The scenario would require Auburn upsetting Kentucky and LSU winning at Tennessee. Vanderbilt would get in by virtue of owning a better winning percentage in head-to-head meetings with the other three teams. The Commodores are 2-1 (66.6%) against the three other teams, while South Carolina is 3-2 (60%) and the other two are 2-3 (40%).
Vanderbilt could also finish third with a win coupled with a loss by Georgia and a win by Kentucky.
The meeting with the Gamecocks will be the first since last season’s regular season finale when the Commodores were defeated 73-70 on Senior Night. Vanderbilt leads the all-time series 20-6 and had won eight straight in the series until last year’s loss.
After starting the year 2-7 on the road, Vanderbilt has won three straight away from Memorial Gym, defeating Florida, Georgia and Mississippi State. Vanderbilt is 7-4 all-time at South Carolina where it has won four straight meetings. In fact, Head Coach Melanie Balcomb is 4-0 at South Carolina. The team’s last loss in Columbia came Jan. 3, 2002 (71-52) under former coach Jim Foster.
Sunday’s game will air on SportSouth with Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Sonya Beeler (analyst) on the call. Fans can listen to the game in Nashville on 560 AM with the voice of Vanderbilt women’s basketball, Charlie Mattos, on the call. Fans may also listen online by subscribing to All-Access on VUCommodores.com. The game will be webcast on ESPN3.com. home.
Vanderbilt’s SEC Seeding Scenarios
With one games to play, Vanderbilt could still finish anywhere from third to fifth in the SEC standings. There are many scenarios for where Vanderbilt could end up. Here is a look at what one SID believes is at least most of them.
Third Seed
– Vanderbilt wins, Georgia loses and Kentucky wins
Fourth Seed
– Vanderbilt wins, Georgia wins and Kentucky wins
– Vanderbilt wins, Georgia wins and Kentucky loses
– Vanderbilt wins, Georgia loses and Kentucky loses
– Vanderbilt loses, Auburn wins and LSU wins
Fifth seed
– Vanderbilt loses, Auburn wins and LSU loses
– Vanderbilt loses, Auburn loses and LSU wins
– Vanderbilt loses, Auburn loses and LSU loses
Last Time Out
For the second year in a row Vanderbilt had its Senior Night festivities spoiled as Florida topped the Commodores 74-69 Friday at Memorial Gym in a game that was postponed from Thursday night due to inclement weather.
Vanderbilt (18-10, 9-6 SEC) held a one-point lead at the half, but did not lead the final 19:52 of the ball game as Florida (16-13, 6-9 SEC) extended its lead to as many as 11 points with 8:08 to play before withstanding a late charge by the Commodores. Vanderbilt trimmed the Gators’ lead to two, 62-60, with 5:33 to play with a 13-4 run, but wouldn’t get any closer.
The Commodores never led by more than one point on Friday and ended up splitting the season series with the Gators, who ended Vanderbilt’s seven-game winning streak against them.
Four Commodores scored in double figures, led by Foggie’s 15 points. Tiffany Clarke finished with her third consecutive double-double, 13 points and 14 rebounds. Jence Rhoads also added 13 points, six rebounds and four assists after missing last game due to a sprained ankle.
About South Carolina
South Carolina is coming off a season in which they went 14-15 overall and finished tied for 7th in the SEC. The Gamecocks are 13-3 in Columbia this season. Vanderbilt is 7-4 all-time against the Gamecocks on the road.
The Gamecocks are coached by Dawn Staley, who is in her third season in Columbia. Staley is a three-time Olympic gold medalist and staff member of the USA Women’s Basketball team.
South Carolina has been without some of its key personnel as of late. Guard Samone Walker was dismissed from the team last week and Maryland transfer Marah Strickland has missed the last seven games due to personal reasons.
Thursday, senior Jewel May played just one minute after getting injured at LSU.
South Carolina Series
Vanderbilt is 20-6 all-time against South Carolina. The Commodores have won 10 of 13 in the series and had won eight straight in the series before losing 73-70 last season. Vanderbilt has won four straight in Columbia and Head Coach Melanie Balcomb has never lost at South Carolina (4-0).
Vanderbilt is 11-2 all-time at home against South Carolina. The Commodores lost the latest meeting at Memorial Gym on Feb. 28, 2010.
Head Coach Melanie Balcomb is 8-2 all-time against South Carolina.
Regular Season Finales
Vanderbilt has lost two straight and three of its last four regular season finales. Vanderbilt also closed last year’s regular season against South Carolina. The last time Vanderbilt closed the regular season at South Carolina was Feb. 29, 2004 when Vanderbilt won 62-41.
Head Coach Melanie Balcomb is 5-3 in regular season finales after starting her Commodore career 4-0.
The SEC Tournament Bye
Under Head Coach Melanie Balcomb, the Commodores have prooven they can win the conference tournament with or without a first-round bye. Without a bye, Vanderbilt is 7-3 with the only tournament title coming in 2004. With a bye, the Commodores are 8-2 with tournament titles in 2007 and 2009. Vanderbilt has won at least one tournament game every year under Balcomb.
Second Half Defensive Struggles
Vanderbilt has been as good as anyone in the league on defense in the firt half, but the second half as of late has been a trouble spot. In four of the team’s last six games, the opponent has scored at least 48 points in the second half. During that span, the team is giving up 44.5 points per game in the second half. No team has topped 32 first-half points since Jan. 23.
Injury Bug Bites
Vanderbilt has dealt with many injuries throughout the 2010-11 season and just when it appeared the Commodores were getting healthy at the most important time of the year, senior guard Jence Rhoads sprained her right ankle and missed the Kentucky game on Feb. 20. Rhoads’ injury occurred one game after Christina Foggie returned to the floor after suffering her second head injury. Thankfully, Rhoads returned one game later against Florida.
Between Rhoads, Foggie and Stephanie Holzer, who missed time due to a back injury, at least one of Vanderbilt’s five leading scorers have not been available for 14 out of the team’s 28 games.
Clarke Heating Up
Since moving into the starting lineup on Jan. 30, Tiffany Clarke has been a force for the Commodores, averaging 13.8 points and 9.4 rebounds during the eight-game span. Clarke has posted four double-doubles and three 20-point games in the past six games. Clarke has a double-double in three straight games now.
Against Kentucky, Clarke became the first Commodore with consecutive games of 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds since Jenni Benningfield in 2003 at Duquesne and at Mississippi State.
Foggie=Instant Offense
Since returning from a concussion, Christina Foggie has led Vanderbilt in scoring in two of three games and reached double figures in all three, while averaging 16.3 points per game.
Three Straight on the Road
After starting 2-7 on the road, Vanderbilt has won three straight games away from