Feb. 22, 2011
— Game Postponed Until Friday —
Senior class forges unbreakable bond by Ryan Schulz
Vanderbilt Game Notes 
| Webcast, Live Stats, Twitter
Florida (15-13, 5-9 SEC) at Vanderbilt (18-9, 9-5 SEC)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011
Time: 8:07 p.m.
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Venue: Memorial Gymnasium (14,168)
Radio: 560 AM (Charlie Mattos)
TV: CSS (Matt Stewart, play-by-play, Joe Ciampi, analyst)
Webcast: ESPN3.com
Series: Vanderbilt leads 30-18
Last Meeting: February 6, 2011 (Vanderbilt 103 – Florida 97 (Gainesville – 2OT))
Vanderbilt will begin its final week of the regular season by hosting Florida on Senior Night at 8 p.m. CT on Thursday at Memorial Gymnasium. The Commodores will then close the regular season Sunday at South Carolina.
Thursday’s game will be the last home game for Vanderbilt’s three seniors: Jence Rhoads, Rebecca Silinski and Hannah Tuomi. All three, along with five senior managers will be honored on the floor after the game.
Currently the Commodores (18-9, 9-4 SEC) sit in fourth place in the SEC standings after losing to Kentucky 80-71 on Sunday. With two games to play, Vanderbilt can still finish anywhere from second to fifth in the standings. The top four teams in the league receive a bye in the first round of the SEC tournament (March 3-6, Nashville). Florida (15-13, 5-9 SEC) is ninth in the SEC.
In the team’s first meeting earlier this year on Super Bowl Sunday, the game went two overtimes and featured a combined 200 points as the Commodores defeated Florida 103-97. At the time, the win was just Vanderbilt’s third of the season on the road, and the Commodores have not lost away from Memorial Gym since. Vanderbilt led by as many as 13 points in the game before Florida rallied to force overtime.
Currently, Vanderbilt has won seven straight games in the series – the longest streak by either team. Florida’s last win in the series came Jan. 22, 2006 in Gainesville (73-59). Vanderbilt has won four straight meetings at Memorial Gym with the last loss coming Feb. 1, 2004 (92-83).
The Commodores began the season at home with a 12-0 record, which tied for the best in school history. However, the Commodores have now lost two straight at Memorial Gym for the first time since the 2004-05 season. Vanderbilt has not lost three in a row at home since the 2003-04 season.
Thursday’s game will air on CSS with Matt Stewart (play-by-play) and Joe Ciampi (analyst) on the call. Each of Vanderbilt’s final two regular season games will be televised.
Fans can listen to the game in Nashville on 560 AM with the voice of Vanderbilt women’s basketball, Charlie Mattos, on the call. Fans may also listen online by subscribing to All-Access on VUCommodores.com. The game will be webcast on ESPN3.com.
Last Time Out
In a physical contest where neither team seemed to get into a rhythm between the combined 59 fouls called and 73 free throws that were attempted on Sunday, Kentucky was able to overcome a seven-point Vanderbilt lead and deal the Commodores an 80-71 loss in their annual Pink Out game at Memorial Gym.
With just two games remaining before the SEC Tournament in Nashville (March 3-6), Sunday’s loss dropped the Commodores (18-9, 9-5 SEC) to fourth in the league standings behind the 19th-ranked Wildcats (20-7, 9-5 SEC), who swept the season series. The top four teams receive first round byes.
Vanderbilt got a combined 45 points from Tiffany Clarke and Christina Foggie, but in the end it was not enough to overcome the Wildcats’ pressing defense that turned Vanderbilt over 23 times in the absence of senior guard Jence Rhoads, who missed the game with a sprained right ankle.
Both teams dealt with foul trouble throughout the game. All five of Vanderbilt’s starters finished with four fouls and key reserve Stephanie Holzer fouled out with 6:05 to play. Kentucky was not spared either. The Wildcats had two starters foul out and another finish with four fouls.
About Florida
The Gators are coached by Amanda Butler, who is in her fourth season at her alma mater (’95). Butler, a native of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., has guided Florida to one NCAA appearance and two WNIT showings during her tenure. Last season the Gators advanced to the second round of the WNIT.
Florida Series
Vanderbilt is 30-18 all-time against Florida and is 15-5 in games played at Memorial Gym. The Commodores have won seven straight with the Gators, including four in a row in Nashville. The last loss in the series came Jan. 22, 2006 at Florida (73-59). Head Coach Melanie Balcomb is 11-3 all-time against Florida. She is also 4-1 all-time in games at Vanderbilt.
Commodore Senior Class
Vanderbilt will recognize seniors Jence Rhoads, Rebecca Silinski and Hannah Tuomi after Thursday’s game. The senior class has advanced to three straight NCAA Tournaments, won over 70% of their games and have two Sweet 16 appearances and an SEC Tournament title.
Foggie Returns, Rhoads Goes Down
Vanderbilt has dealt with many injuries throughout the 2010-11 season and just when it appeared the Commodores were getting healthy at the most important time of the year, senior guard Jence Rhoads sprained her right ankle and missed the Kentucky game on Feb. 20. Rhoads’ injury occurred one game after Christina Foggie returned to the floor after suffering her second head injury.
Between Rhoads, Foggie and Stephanie Holzer, who missed time due to a back injury, three of Vanderbilt’s five leading scorers have not been available for 15 games.
Clarke Heating Up
Since moving into the starting lineup on Jan. 30, Tiffany Clarke has been a force for the Commodores, averaging 13.8 points and 8.7 rebounds during the seven-game span. Clarke has posted three double-doubles and three 20-point games in the past five games. Against Kentucky, Clarke became the first Commodore with consecutive games of 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds since Jenni Benningfield in 2003 at Duquesne and at Mississippi State.
In two games last week Clarke averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds.
200 SEC Wins
Vanderbilt’s win at Mississippi State on Feb. 17 was its 200th in SEC play. The Commodores join Tennessee, LSU and Georgia as the only teams to reach 200 league wins. Vanderbilt is currently 200-143 in SEC play.
Rhoads Joins Rare Company
Senior Jence Rhoads became the second player in school history to score 1,000 points, have 500 assists and collect 400 rebounds after grabbing seven rebounds at Mississippi State on Feb. 17. Rhonda Blades (92-95) is the only other player to accomplish this feat.
Commodores Close Strong Under Balcomb
Vanderbilt has won five of its last seven games. The Commodores are once again finding their groove just as the end of the regular season nears. Under Coach Balcomb, Vanderbilt has closed the regular season about as well as any team in the league. Since Balcomb’s first season (2002-03), Vanderbilt is 55-19 (74.3%) all-time in its final nine regular season games.
Even more impressive is Vanderbilt’s record in the team’s final nine games against teams besides Tennessee. Vanderbilt is 55-9 (85.9%) under Balcomb in the team’s final nine games against opponents besides Tennessee.
Double Overtime Win in the Swamp
Vanderbilt earned a 103-97 win in double overtime at Florida on Sunday. It was Vanderbilt’s first double overtime game since Feb. 3, 2005 at Mississippi State — also a win (106-98). The overtime game was Vanderbilt’s first of the season, and the Commodores have now won five straight overtime games. It was Vanderbilt’s sixth all-time double overtime game. Vanderbilt has never played a game that has spanned longer than two OT’s. The 200 combined points in the game were the second most in school history behind the 204 points in the Miss. State game in 2005.
Tied for Best Home Start in School History
Vanderbilt began the season 12-0 at home to tie the best mark in school history. However, Vanderbilt has now lost two in a row for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
Vanderbilt was looking to become the first team in school history to start 13-0 at home. The 12-0 start matched Vanderbilt’s best home start in school history with the 2001-02 and 1992-93 teams. This is the 34th season of Vanderbilt basketball.
As for consecutive wins at home spanning multiple seasons, Vanderbilt most recently won 13 straight games from the end of the 2005-06 season through the start of the 2006-07 season. This year, the Commodores finished their non-conference slate undefeated (7-0) for the first time since going 9-0 during the 2006-07 season.
Vanderbilt’s SEC Seeding Scenarios
With two games to play, Vanderbilt could still finish anywhere from second to fifth in the SEC standings. There are many scenarios for where Vanderbilt could end up. Here is a look at what one SID believes is at least most of them.
Second Seed
– Vanderbilt wins out, Georgia loses once or both games and Kentucky loses once
Third Seed
– Vanderbilt wins out, Georgia wins 1 or both of its games, Kentucky loses once
– Vanderbilt wins out, Georgia loses its final 2 games, Kentucky wins out
– Vanderbilt wins out, Georgia wins 1 or both of its games, Kentucky loses out
– Vanderbilt wins once, Kentucky loses out
– Vanderbilt wins once, Georgia loses its final 2 games, Kentucky wins once
Fourth Seed
– Vanderbilt wins out, Georgia wins both of its final games, Kentucky wins out
– Vanderbilt wins out, Georgia loses 1 of its two games, Kentucky wins out
– Vanderbilt beats Florida, South Carolina loses at LSU, Vanderbilt loses at South Carolina, Kentucky loses once, Georgia losses two times
– Vanderbilt loses to Florida, beats South Carolina, Kentucky wins once or twice
– Vanderbilt beats Florida, loses to South Carolina, South Carolina beats LSU, Kentucky loses out.
Fifth seed
– Vanderbilt beats Florida, loses to South Carolina and South Carolina wins at LSU and Kentucky wins once
– Vanderbilt loses out, South Carolina wins out
– Vanderbilt loses out, South Carolina loses at LSU, but beats Vanderbilt
