Dec. 29, 2008
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team plays its final home non-conference game of the season Tuesday when Big East power Notre Dame visits Memorial Gymnasium for a 7 p.m. CT tip.
The Commodores (11-2) are looking to secure a perfect home non-conference record for the fifth time in Head Coach Melanie Balcomb’s seven years as head coach, while Notre Dame (10-1) is in the middle of a four-game road swing.
The battle of Top 20 foes — Vanderbilt was ranked 19th and Notre Dame sixth in last week’s ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll — promises to provide a stiff challenge as both teams gear up for their respective conference schedules.
Vanderbilt is led by All-America candidate Christina Wirth, a 6-1 senior who ranks among Southeastern Conference leaders in scoring, field goal percentage, 3-point shooting and steals. The Mesa, Ariz., native is averaging 15.6 points per game and recently became the 20th Commodore to score 1,200 career points.
Notre Dame is paced by two players that average over 13 points per game — senior Lindsay Schrader and junior Ashley Barlow.
Both teams have won their last three games after suffering tough road losses. Vanderbilt fell at UC Riverside, 47-50, while Notre Dame lost at Michigan, 59-63. Michigan is the only other team to have beaten the Commodores, 42-50, in Ann Arbor.
Tuesday’s matchup marks only the fourth meeting between Vanderbilt and Notre Dame. The Irish lead the series, 2-1, with wins in 1990 and 2001. Vanderbilt won the only meeting in Nashville, 86-64, on Jan. 8, 1989.
Tickets for Tuesday’s game are available online at VUcommodores.com, via phone at 615-322-GOLD, or in person at the ticket office.
