VU Women Rout Lipscomb 92-37

The Vanderbilt women's team began the Christmas holidays on a positive note by routing Lipscomb 92-37 Saturday night in Memorial Gym. Tina Wirth led the Dores with 16 points, followed by Jen Risper and Merideth Marsh with 13 points each.

The game never was close. Vanderbilt scored the first eight points of the game, and less than five minutes into the first half, the Dores had already established a double digit lead. A pair of free throws by Risper with 12:31 left in the first half gave Vanderbilt a 20-point lead. By halftime, the lead had grown to 35 points, and in the second half, Vanderbilt led by as much as 58 points.

With the comfortable lead throughout the game, Vanderbilt Head Coach Melanie Balcomb was able to play all of her available players for at least five minutes. Only sophomore post Amber Norton didn't see any action. Norton has been dealing with lingering injuries, and the staff decided to give her rest during the holiday break to help them heal.

The game was Vanderbilt's first game since a home loss to Colorado nearly two weeks ago. Going into the game, Balcomb's goal was for the team to get their timing back and to build some confidence.

"Coming off a loss against Colorado, we needed to get confidence back and feel good about ourselves going into Christmas," she said. "Having five days to reflect again and four days off, you don't want them thinking negative things. I think you always want to go into that last game before the break thinking positive things, and I think everybody should feel pretty good about their effort."

After the Christmas break, Vanderbilt returns to action on December when #25 Old Dominion visits Memorial Gym. Game time is 2 p.m.

Box score




Merideth Marsh




Jen Risper




Merideth Marsh




Tina Wirth




Liz Sherwood




Amy Malo




Jence Rhoads and Tina Wirth




Hannah Tuomi




Jence Rhoads




Amy Malo




Jence Rhoads and Tina Wirth




Amy Malo




Tina Wirth




Jen Risper




Hannah Tuomi




Jence Rhoads




Ashlee Bridge




Liz Sherwood and Carla Thomas




* * * * *

Photos copyright 2007 by WhitneyD for VandyMania.com.