Feb. 29, 2012
Vandy Game Notes (vs. Mississippi State) 
| Mississippi State Notes
Foggie & Clarke Interviews | Balcomb Interview
The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team will open the 2012 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday, March 1, when they face Mississippi State. The Commodores concluded the regular season with a 21-8 record, 9-7 in SEC play to earn the seven seed. The Lady Bulldogs went 14-15, 4-12 in the league to finish tenth.
The winner will move on to the quarterfinals to face second-seeded Tennessee.
Scouting The Commodores
Vanderbilt enters the 2012 SEC Tournament following its 13th straight 20-win season and a 9-7 mark in SEC play that earned it the seven seed. Head Coach Melanie Balcomb’s squad boasts the SEC Scoring Champion in Christina Foggie. The sophomore guard posted 17.9 ppg on the year, while also shooting a league-best 42.9% from three-point range (a mark that is fourth in the nation). Running the point is the SEC assists leader, Jasmine Lister. The sophomore averaged 12.2 points and 5.5 assists on the year. A pair of post players are the other major contributors. Junior forward Tiffany Clarke, who was on the All-SEC Tournament Team last year, averaged 11.8 points and 7.3 rebounds during the year, numbers that were 15th and fourth in the SEC, respectively. Center Stephanie Holzer averaged 11.0 points and 7.1 rebounds on the season. As a team, Vanderbilt led the SEC in field goal percentage (47.1%), free throw percentage (72.3%) and three-point percentage (37.7%). The Commodores have won seven of their last 10 games. In addition, the Commodores will be looking to give Balcomb her 400th career win (399-196).
Scouting The Lady Bulldogs
Mississippi State enters the SEC Tournament with a 14-15 record and a 4-12 mark in league play that earned them the 10 seed. Diamber Johnson leads the Lady Bulldogs with 14.7 points per game, a total that ranks fourth in the SEC. Porsha Porter is right behind her at 13.0 points per game, which is eighth in the league. Martha Alwal is the team’s top rebounder at 7.2 boards per contest (6th in the SEC). Mississippi State struggled to find offense outside of Johnson and Porter, as they averaged an SEC-low 57.0 ppg, while their 60.2 points allowed per game are ninth in the league. 17th-year Head Coach Sharon Fanning-Otis announced on February 20 that she would retire at the end of the season. She is Mississippi State’s all-time wins leader with 281 victories and is one of just 14 coaches to have 600 career wins after 36 years at Tennessee-Chattanooga, Kentucky and Mississippi State.
Vanderbilt vs. Mississippi State – The Series
This will be he 48th meeting between Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, with the Commodores holding a 33-14 edge in the series. Mississippi State is the only program that Vanderbilt has played every season in program history, with the first meeting coming in Vandy’s inaugural 1978-79 season. The teams met on February 5 in Starkeville, with Vanderbilt taking a 65-59 win behind 21 points and 13 rebounds from Stephanie Holzer. Christina Foggie added 17 points, while Jasmine Lister scored eight and dished out nine assists. The Lady Bulldogs were led by Diamber Johnson and Catina Bett, who scored 17 and 16 points, respectively. Martha Alwal grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in the game. The teams are meeting in the SEC Tournament for the second-straight year, as Vanderbilt took a 69-55 second round win last year behind 23 points and nine rebounds from Tiffany Clarke. Melanie Balcomb is 9-4 against Mississippi State in 10 seasons as the head coach at Vanderbilt. All-time the Commodores are 5-2 against Mississippi State at the SEC Tournament.
On-Deck
The winner of the Mississippi State-Vanderbilt contest will move on to face second-seeded Tennessee in the second round of the SEC Tournament. That contest will be on Friday, March 2, at 2:30 p.m. and can be seen on FSN (SportSouth, Fox Sports Southwest & Sun Sports) and ESPN3.com. The Lady Vols received a first-round bye.
Vandy At The SEC Tournament
Vanderbilt owns the second-best history in SEC Tournament play, having posted an all-time mark of 43-36 (.623) and having won six tournament titles. The only team with more wins, a better winning percentage and more titles is Tennessee (66-17 for a .795 wining percentage and 15 titles). In the previous four SEC Tournaments in Nashville (2002, 2004, 2008 & 2011), the Commodores have posted a 7-3 record while winning the tournament championship in 2002 and 2004. The 2004 squad is the most recent SEC team to win the tournament without the benefit of a first round bye, a feat the Commodores will try to replicate this season. Last year, Vanderbilt went 1-1 as the three seed, defeating 11th seeded Mississippi State, 69-55, before falling to second-seeded Kentucky, 69-56.
