Dec. 16, 2011
The No. 20/18 Vanderbilt women’s basketball team (10-0) travels to Raleigh, N.C., to face North Carolina State (6-3) on Sunday, December 18. Tipoff at NC State’s Reynolds Coliseum is set for 1:00 p.m. CT. The game can be heard on the radio in Nashville on WNSR 560 AM, as well as part of Vanderbilt All-Access on VUCommodores.com.
Scouting the Commodores
At 10-0, No. 20/18 Vanderbilt has equalled its best start in a decade under Head Coach Melanie Balcomb. The Commodores are led by a pair of sophomore guards, Christina Foggie and Jasmine Lister. Foggie is averaging a 17.2 points per game, a mark that currently ranks second in the SEC. She has scored at least 20 points in each of the last five contests, the first time a Vanderbilt player has done so in two decades. Lister is posting 14.3 points per game, while adding 5.8 assists per contest, which also is second in the league. The Commodores have a pair of post players also averaging double figures in redshirt sophomore center Stephanie Holzer (11.7 ppg/7.0 rpg) and junior forward Tiffany Clarke (11.5 ppg/7.4 rpg). As a team, Vanderbilt leads the country in three-point shooting percentage (44.1%), while ranking third in the nation in field goal percentage (49.8%).
Scouting the Wolfpack
NC State enters the contest with a record of 6-3, coming off a 72-58 loss at home to Richmond on Thursday, Dec. 15. Senior forward Boane Holston, who scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Spiders, leads the team with 14.0 ppg. Holston is also the team’s top rebounder at 9.1 per contest. Junior guard Marissa Kastanek is the second-leading scorer at 12.4 ppg after scoring 17 against Richmond. The other three starters for Head Coach Kellie Harper’s squad are sophomore forward Kody Burke (9.4 ppg/5.3 rpg), sophomore guard senior guard Myisha Goodwin-Coleman (8.4 ppg/3.6 apg) and Emili Tasler (4.0 ppg/3.7 apg). NC State is 2-0 against the SEC this season, having scored wins over South Carolina (55-53) and Alabama (79-57), both at home.
Vanderbilt vs. NC State – The Series
Vanderbilt and NC State have split four previous meetings. The Commodores took the first game in Charlotte, N.C., in the 1995-96 season. The teams met again in the 2004-05 season in Nashville and the 2005-06 season in Raleigh, N.C., with the Wolfpack taking both meetings. NC State visited Nashville for the 2009 Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament, with the Commodores taking a 77-71 victory over the Wolfpack in the championship game.
Commodores vs. Atlantic Coast Conference
Vanderbilt has posted a 19-19 record against members of the ACC. They have played 11 of the 12 institutions (Wake Forest is the only exception), but have not played any team more than six times. The Commodores have faced Georgia Tech the most of any ACC school, sporting a 4-2 record against the Yellow Jackets. The best record the Commodores have against an ACC school is against Clemson (4-0). Vanderbilt is 2-3 against Duke, North Carolina and Virginia, with a 2-2 mark against NC State. Vandy is 2-1 against Virginia Tech, 1-1 against Miami, 0-1 versus Boston College and Florida State and 0-2 against Maryland. NC State is the first of back-to-back ACC opponents for the Commodores, as they host Florida State on December 22.
On-Deck
Vanderbilt will face an ACC foe for the second-straight time when it hosts Florida State on Thursday, December 22. Tipoff at Memorial Gym is set for 7:00 p.m.
