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Vanderbilt Freshman Carla Thomas Selected as SEC Player of the Week 2-23-04 2/23/2004 Rookie Joins Senior Jenni Benningfield (Dec. 29) as Commodore SEC Honorees This Season Vanderbilt freshman women’s basketball player Carla Thomas has been selected as the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week for the period ending Feb. 22. The rookie forward averaged 19.0 points, eight rebounds and two blocks as the Black and Gold picked up two important road victories over ranked foes at #15/14 LSU (61-55) and #14/16 Auburn (68-60). VU’s triumphs ended LSU and Auburn’s 13 and 16-game home winning streaks, respectively. During Vanderbilt’s 61-55 win in Baton Rouge, La., Thomas hit 10-of-16 shots from the floor to lead the squad with 22 points. She also tallied a career-high 11 rebounds and four blocks. At Auburn, the rookie forward totaled 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, hustled for five rebounds and nabbed two steals. Since the Commodores entered rugged SEC play 12 games ago, Thomas, a Mechanicburg, Pa., native, currently ranked second in the conference in field-goal percentage (.584) counting all contests, has come into her own by posting a team-high 14.3 ppg while shooting a stellar .595 from the field. During league competition, the rookie is second on the squad in rebounding (5.8 rpg) and is hitting at an .867 clip on 39-of-45 shooting from the free throw line to rate fifth in the league. The 6’3″ forward, who has started Vanderbilt’s last 14 games including 11 of those in place of injured senior first-team preseason All-SEC selection Jenni Benningfield, has reached double-figures in nine consecutive games overall and in 10 of her 12 career SEC contests. In her last six matchups, including four against Top-15 foes (#16/14 Georgia, #3 Tennessee, #15/14 LSU and #14/16 Auburn), Thomas has tallied at least 16 points. She has reached 20 points twice this season with 24 tallies against Georgia and 22 points at LSU. Vanderbilt will next take to the hardwood on Thursday night, Feb. 26, as the Commodores welcome SEC foe Mississippi State for a 7:00 p.m. CT tipoff. Immediately following the contest, fans will have a chance to celebrate the careers of four great seniors, Jenni Benningfield, Hillary Hager, Jutta Korkko and Venessa Ferragamo, as Vanderbilt holds “Senior Night.” |
