Dec. 22, 2008
Vanderbilt 67 – Liberty 50
December 22, 2008 – Memorial Gym
Attendance: 3,975
Melanie Balcomb, Vanderbilt Head Coach
On Scheduling:
We certainly expected more of a challenge. We put Liberty on our schedule because they go to the NCAAs (Tournament) every year. We like to put teams on our schedule that have won their conference and been to the NCAAs because it prepares us more for the SEC season. Liberty is missing their best player and that can’t be easy for them right now.
On the Conclusion of Three Games in Four Days:
I’ve really been looking at us, instead of scouting other teams. I wanted to make sure we were ready for these games, and it’s difficult because we didn’t have a lot of time (in the past 4 days) to truly prepare for the games. We only practiced for half an hour this morning.
On Tia Gibbs:
Since they were playing zone (defense), I really wanted to put Tia in because I knew she would excel. She was great off the ball and she’s a great rebounder. Our 3-point shooting was great tonight because of Tia and Meredith (Marsh).
On Meredith Marsh:
She was great tonight. Shooters can get streaky sometimes and she had a rough past few games. She just needed to get into practice and work and she played well tonight.
On Negatives in Game:
I didn’t like our tempo. We need to go fast in transition. We played in spurts today. We got more offense off of our defense though and that was a plus for us.
On Numerous Games in One Week:
Having a third game in a week has been disastrous for us. We lost to Michigan, which was the third game in a week. We lost to UC-Riverside, which was our third game in a week. And we struggled a bit today compared to yesterday, and this was our third game in a week.
Vanderbilt Players
Tia Gibbs, guard
On Her Play Tonight:
I think it was a combination of a good matchup and finding how to play my game. I’ve had a slump the past few games, but I was able to come in and make the most of my minutes. They (Liberty) played a lot of zone and that definitely threw an advantage in my favor.
On Improvement in Defense:
I was definitely helped by the pressure of our other guards. Off the ball, it was easy to take the ball away from them.
Meredith Marsh, guard
On Chemistry with Tia Gibbs Today:
We don’t normally get to play together. It’s good to be able to show her the ropes a bit. It’s the same with Jence and Jess. We all get to guide Tia along a bit.
On Being Tested:
We definitely didn’t play our best today. However whenever they came at us, we answered. Today’s game was fun because it was a challenge and now we just need to focus and prepare for our SEC schedule.
On Her Shooting Slump:
I got out of that tonight, which was good. I have been in a shooting slump the past few days, but I just needed to get into the gym and get my mind right.
