Dec. 6, 2009
Vanderbilt Game Notes
Vanderbilt 79, Western Kentucky 73 (OT)
December 6th, 2009
Pregame:
– This is the 31st matchup between the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers and the Vanderbilt Commodores. Vanderbilt holds an 19-12 advantage in the all-time series, including a 10-3 record in the friendly confines of Memorial Gymnasium.
– VU has won the last five contests against the Lady Toppers, their biggest non-conference foe other than their in-town rival, Tennessee State.
First Half:
– Vanderbilt took their first lead of the contest off a 3-pointer by Lauren Lueders at the 13:56 mark of the first half. The game featured six ties and 13 lead changes.
– VU and WKU continued to trade baskets until Jence Rhoads hit a 3-pointer at the 5:09 mark to put Vanderbilt ahead for good.
– Hannah Tuomi came on strong at the end of the half, scoring all of her six first half points in the last three minutes of the half.
– Lauren Lueders led all scorers at the half with eight points. Tiffany Clarke contributed six points and six rebounds.
Second Half:
– Jence Rhoads started off the second half a fast-break layup in the paint, extending Vanderbilt’s first half lead to 10.
– A hard foul by the Lady Toppers at the 2:01 mark brought Merideth Marsh to the charity stripe. She sank both free throws, giving Vanderbilt a two-point lead.
– A jumper by WKU’s Amy McNear tied the game at 62-62 with seven seconds remaining in regulation, thus sending it into overtime.
Overtime:
– Merideth Marsh started the OT strong with two back-to-back layups to give Vanderbilt the lead.
– Jence Rhoads dished the ball inside to Jessica Mooney for a fast-break layup at the 3:30 mark.
– Hannah Tuomi drew a shooting foul at the 2:37 mark and made one free throw, then bookended that score with a steal on the other end of the floor, getting fouled once again.
– Merideth Marsh faked out her defender with a spin move to put the final dagger in the Western Kentucky effort, sinking a layup at the 1:01 mark.
Postgame Notes:
– Vanderbilt is now 17-15 in overtime games, the last before this afternoon was a win over SEC foe Arkansas at Memorial Gymnasium on Jan. 21st, 2009. They are now 9-7 in overtime games at home.
– Jence Rhoads and Merideth Marsh led Vanderbilt in scoring, each with 17 points. VU had five players with double figures in scoring.
– WKU’s Dominique Duck also contributed 17 points to lead her team.
– Hannah Tuomi found her offensive and defensive rhythm at the end of each half, contributing all of her 11 points and 8 rebounds in the last five minutes of each half and throughout overtime.
