Jan. 11, 2007
| WHAT A COMEBACK! |
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 VUVanderbilt trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half before stepping up the defensive pressure in the closing minutes. The Gamecocks turned the ball over 27 times, the most by a Commodore opponent since Lipscomb had 29 on Dec. 20, 2006. VU finished the game with a 12-2 run in the final 4:04 and forced six USC turnovers to make the comback complete. THOMAS ENTERS TOP TEN JAM THE GYM SUNDAY: $1 TICKETS |
“JAM THE GYM” SUNDAY: Jan. 14 vs. Florida – Tickets Only $1 | Box Score
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Dee Davis hit two free throws with 22.6 seconds to go as No. 14 Vanderbilt made a late charge to beat South Carolina 67-66 on Thursday night.
The final points of the game gave the No. 14 Commodores (15-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) their only lead of the night.
The Gamecocks (10-7, 1-2) led 64-55 with 4 minutes to go, but turned the ball over six times and made just 2-of-6 free throws in their final 11 possessions. The only shot from the field during that stretch was Lakesa Tolliver’s miss with 2 seconds to go.
The Commodores scored on five of their final seven possessions, making four of six free throws in the final 40 seconds.
South Carolina dominated much of the game, outrebounding Vanderbilt by 14 and holding the SEC’s second-best shooting team to just 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the field.
However, the Gamecocks turned over the ball 27 times, compared to 18 for the Commodores.
Carla Thomas led Vanderbilt with 26 points and seven rebounds, while Christina Wirth and Caroline Williams each added 13 points.
Stacy Booker scored 14 points and Tolliver had nine points and nine rebounds for South Carolina.
The Commodores opened the game in a zone, challenging the poor-shooting Gamecocks to beat them from outside. However, South Carolina hit two 3-pointers, a couple more outside shots and broke Vanderbilt’s press for an easy layup to take a 14-5 lead.
South Carolina led by seven at half and by 13 with just over 8 minutes to go as Vanderbilt kept making turnovers and missed eight straight free throws.
But the Commodores press started to rattle the Gamecocks, who scored just two points in the final four minutes.
Thomas’ 26 points lifts her to 10th on Vanderbilt’s all-time scoring list with 1,527 points.
South Carolina hasn’t beaten a ranked SEC opponent since an 83-59 win over then-No. 13 Arkansas in February 2003.
The Commodores return home this weekend, playing host to Florida on Sunday, Jan. 14, at Memorial Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT, and Vanderbilt will be attempting to “Jam the Gym” for the regionally televised contest (CSS) by offering $1 tickets and numerous in-game promotions. Call 322-GOLD to order your tickets today.
