Dec. 21, 2008
Vanderbilt 86 – Tennessee-Martin 29
December 21, 2008 – Memorial Gym
Attendance: 4,221
Quick Starts
Head Coach Melanie Balcomb’s squad tries to make a statement early in each half. In today’s contest, Vanderbilt held UT-Martin scoreless until the 13:35 mark of the first half, opening up an 11-0 lead in the game’s first 6:25. The Skyhawks were unable to connect on a field goal until the 11:53 mark in the first half as Vanderbilt opened up an 18-4 lead before the game’s second media timeout.
The second half had a similar feel, as Vanderbilt scored the first 14 points of the stanza to open up a 55-14 lead. UT-Martin’s first basket of the second half came at the 13:55 mark on a put-back.
Fantastic First Half
UT-Martin struggled mightily to create offense in the first half, scoring only 14 points to match the season-low for a Vanderbilt opponent established on Dec. 2 when the Commodores took a 37-14 halftime against Radford.
Vanderbilt’s 27-point halftime lead ties as the Commodores’ second largest halftime advantage this season. Vanderbilt led Tennessee State, 51-24, at the game’s midway point. The Commodores’ season-high halftime lead came against Eastern Kentucky as VU opened up a 30-point margin (48-18) in the opening 20 minutes.
Offensive Balance
Five Commodores reached double-figures for the first time since Feb. 7, 2008, against South Carolina. Sophomore Hannah Tuomi led all scorers with 14 points, while Christina Wirth (13), Merideth Marsh (12), Chanel Chisholm (12) and Jence Rhoads (career-high 11) also hit double figures.
Dominant Defensively
Vanderbilt held UT-Martin to 29 points, marking on the fifth time in school history that a Vanderbilt opponent has scored less than 30 points. Vanderbilt held Alabama A&M to 29 points on Nov. 22, 2005. Balcomb-coached teams also boast the school’s second-best defensive mark, as VU held Savannah State to 28 points on Nov. 22, 2004.
The school record for lowest points by an opponent was 21 by Sewanee in January of 1978.
Vanderbilt’s 57-point margin of victory is tied for 13th most in school history, and marked the highest margin since VU downed Belmont, 104-43, last November. For Martin, it was the third-worst defeat ever behind a 63-point loss to UNC and a 60-point defeat at the hands of Tennessee.
