Nov. 2, 2013
Box Score | Quotes | Howell’s Gallery 
Balcomb Interview | Foggie & Dahlman Interview
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt women’s basketball fans got their first look at this year’s Commodores on Saturday, and they had to be impressed with what they saw.
Facing North Alabama in a preseason exhibition contest, Vanderbilt stormed to a 103-50 victory at Memorial Gym. The Commodores opened the game with an 11-0 run, stretched the lead to 26-2 midway through the half and padded the lead the rest of the way.
Freshman Rebekah Dahlman scored a game-high 21 points and fellow freshman Marqu’es Webb added 14 to help lead the Commodores to the lopsided victory.Saturday’s game was the lone exhibition contest on the schedule for the Commodores, who open the regular season next Friday at home against Appalachian State.
Every Vanderbilt player in uniform reached the scoring column Saturday, including eight Vanderbilt players in double figures. Six players – Christina Foggie, Jasmine Lister, Jasmine Jenkins, Kylee Smith, Morgan Batey, Rayte’a Long – scored exactly 10 points each.
Dahlman finished 4-of-9 from the floor, but scored the majority of her points at the foul line, going 12-of-16 in her debut at Memorial Gym. After the game, she admitted she had some butterflies, although no one could tell.
“Honestly, I was really nervous,” said Dahlman. “I probably didn’t show it, but in my mind I was a little nervous just because hey, it was my first game.”
For the game, Vanderbilt’s touted trio of freshmen — Dahlman, Webb and Smith — combined to go 15-of-26 from the floor and scored 45 points.
Head coach Melanie Balcomb said the impressive performance was simply the continuation of what the freshmen had been doing in practice.
“They’ve played like that every day,” said Balcomb. “They’re relentless, they’re confident, and they know what they’re doing.”
Heather Bowe led Vanderbilt’s rebounding effort, pulling down eight boards. Smith and Long added seven rebounds apiece to help Vanderbilt produce a 47-26 advantage on the glass.
Vanderbilt’s senior guard duo of Foggie and Lister played a key in the role win, too. Foggie finished 4-of-8 from the floor with four assists and two steals. Lister added her 10 points by going 3-of-4 from the floor, and also had five rebounds.Foggie said she was excited about what she saw from her team, especially in regard to the Commodores’ balanced scoring.
“I was just really encouraged with the confidence from everyone, defensively and offensively,” said Foggie. “You can expect to see a lot of players playing this year and a lot of contributions from more than just five or six people.”
Vanderbilt shot 56 percent from the floor overall, including a sizzling 62 percent in the first half. The Commodores were 6-of-8 from 3-point range in the win.
Vanderbilt’s defense forced UNA to commit 30 turnovers and limited the Lions to 31 percent shooting from the floor (18-of-58).
The first half went about as close to perfect as possible for Vanderbilt. The Commodores made 18-of-29 shots from the floor and put together scoring runs of 11-0, 15-0 and 19-0 while storming to a 54-13 lead.
Dahlman led all scorers with 12 points in the first 20 minutes. She did most her damage at the foul line, going 10-of-14. Webb added nine first-half points and Foggie had seven for the Commodores, who saw eight players reach the scoring column in the opening 20 minutes. Vanderbilt’s defense limited UNA to just 13 percent shooting from the field and forced 16 turnovers.
Vanderbilt set the tone by jumping out to an 11-0 lead in the first three minutes, and then extended the lead to 26-2 after a pair of free throws by Dahlman at the 11:16 mark.
After UNA scored four straight points, Vanderbilt went to work again with a 19-0 run that was fueled by five points by Dahlman and a pair of baskets by Morgan Batey. The surge, capped by Long’s basket, gave Vanderbilt a 45-6 lead with 3:09 to play in the first half.
