Nov. 28, 2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Hannah Tuomi had 16 points and Christina Wirth added 14 as No. 17 Vanderbilt defeated Davidson 82-50 on Friday.
“We wanted to have a much more aggressive mentality,” Melanie Balcomb, VU head coach, said. “We worked really hard this week and pushed our players to their limits.”
Wirth scored seven straight first-half points, including consecutive 3-pointers, to turn a two-point lead (19-17) into a nine-point advantage (26-17). She also had five rebounds and four assists.
Tuomi scored four points in a 9-0 Vanderbilt run to open the second half.
“We didn’t have any fight back when we played Michigan, so we worked on our fighting mentality,” added Balcomb. “The second half we really came out and were aggressive defensively.”
Vanderbilt (5-1) never trailed, forcing 33 turnovers and allowing just six offensive rebounds. Davidson (1-4) had an overall advantage of 33-27 in rebounds.
The Wildcats got within four, 26-22, on a 3-point basket by Ashley Lax with 5:53 to play in the first half. She finished with 13 points. Julia Paquette added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Wildcats. Mercedes Robinson had 10 points.
Vanderbilt will face the winner of the St. Joseph’s/Virginia Tech matchup in the Tournament Championship game tomorrow at 4 p.m.
