Women's Basketball Remains at Home to Face Vanderbilt
2/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama women's basketball team (8-15, 1-7 SEC) will remain at home to host the Vanderbilt Commodores (17-6, 6-2 SEC) on Sunday, Feb. 10 at 2:00 p.m. The contest will mark the Think Pink game for Alabama as players and coaches will do their part by sporting the color pink. Mick Gillispie will once again call the action on CTSN.
Vanderbilt leads the all-time series, 21-11, and has owned the Tide in the recent past. VU has won four consecutive over Alabama and have been winners in eight of the last nine against UA, including a 40-point win over the Tide last year in Nashville, Tenn.. The last Tide victory against Vandy came on Feb. 8, 2004, an 81-69 win over the Commodores in Tuscaloosa. Alabama holds a slight 7-6 lead over Vanderbilt in Tuscaloosa. The last victory at home against Vandy marked the last time UA defeated the Commodores. Stephany Smith is 0-3 in her career against Vanderbilt.
The Vanderbilt women's basketball team rolls into a Southeastern Conference matchup with Alabama this Sunday on the heels of a four-game winning streak. The Commodores (17-6, 6-2 SEC) defeated South Carolina on Thursday, 78-48, behind a smothering defensive effort and five scorers in double-figures. Sophomore guard Merideth Marsh had a game-high 12 points to lead Vanderbilt to its eighth-consecutive home conference win. For the fourth straight game, Vanderbilt's opponent had more turnovers than made field goals as the Gamecocks shot just 30.6 percent from the floor. The Commodores have tied the school's best SEC start since the league expanded to a 14-game schedule in 1998.The Commodores are led offensively by Christina Wirth and her 13.3 points. Liz Sherwood adds 12.5 points off the bench. As a team Vanderbilt is shooting 47 percent from the floor and is averaging 72.6 points per game while holding its opponents to just 56.9 per clip.
The Alabama women's basketball team will assist in breast cancer awareness by participating in the WBCA Think Pink initiative...the Tide has declared its Sunday, Feb. 10 contest against Vanderbilt as the Think Pink Game. Alabama along with coaches, administrators and fans will promote awareness by sporting the color pink.
The "Think Pink" initiative is a global, unified effort for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The WBCA began "Think Pink" in 2007 as an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness in women's basketball, on campuses and in communities. In 2007, more than 120 schools unified for this effort and helped make the inaugural year of the "Think Pink" a success. The "Think Pink" week for 2008 will be held February 8 - 17.
Former local Hillcrest High School standout Christy Elliott made her first appearance in an Alabama uniform. The Tuscaloosa native got the nod against No. 8 ranked LSU. Elliott was a former practice player who got added to the roster this season after helping the Tide in scout preparation.
Alabama freshman forward Tierney Jenkins took some time making the transition into SEC competition. The Alabama leading scorer was held to under double-digits in points for three-straight games, her longest streak of the season. Jenkins broke out of the slump in a big way against Mississippi State on Jan. 31 with 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting in 25 minutes of action. On the season the Mt. Juliet, Tenn. native leads the Tide with 11.4 points per game and is second with 6.7 boards per tilt. Jenkins has now tallied double-digits in points in her last three SEC games after nearly missing a double-double against No. 8 LSU with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Alabama will hit the road for another two games away from Coleman Coliseum. The Tide will begin its week on Thursday, Feb. 14 against instate rival Auburn in Auburn. Tipoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. Alabama will then continue the trek to Lexington, Ky. to face the Wildcats on Sunday, Feb. 17 at Noon.
