No. 4 Tennessee Uses Second Half Run to Defeat No. 17 Vanderbilt, 81-67 2/2/03

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Vanderbilt and Tennessee women's basketball teams revisited one of the most storied rivalries in college basketball on Sunday evening at Memorial Gymnasium. Unfortunately, the home-standing Commodores fell to the fourth-ranked Lady Volunteers, 81-67, in front of a crowd of 11,401.

With the loss, the Commodores fall to 13-7 overall and 3-4 in the SEC, while the Lady Volunteers push their overall record to 18-3 and 7-0 in the conference.

With the Commodores trailing 8-6 early on in the first half, they put together a 19-3 run over the next five plus minutes to take a 25-9 lead. During the run, guard Ashley McElhiney hit two three-point baskets and guard Abi Ramsey hit one.

During the Commodores' run, at the 11:07 mark of the first half, senior All-American Chantelle Anderson hit the ground falling a layup by guard Tia Battle. Anderson stayed on the floor for a couple of minutes, but was able to get up and walk to the bench under her own strength. After receiving attention from the training staff, Anderson returned to the game at the 5:55 mark of the first half.

Tennessee guard Kara Lawson finally stalled the run when she knocked down a three-point basket at the 9:35 mark. Following Lawson's three, the Lady Volunteers went on a 10-0 run of their own to cut the Vanderbilt lead to 25-19. With the lead cut to six, both teams began to go back-and-forth with baskets. The Commodores went into the locker room with slim 37-34 lead.

Despite sitting out almost six minutes of the half, Anderson led the Commodores with 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting in the first half. McElhiney chipped in 11 points and dished out six assists over the first 20 minutes. Nine of her 11 points came from behind the arc (3-for-4). As a team, Vanderbilt shot 62 percent in the first half on 16-for-26 shooting.

Tennessee was led by Lawson, who also had 13 points while going 3-for-3 from three-point range. Freshman Shanna Zolman finished the half with seven points and three assists. The Lady Volunteers made half of their baskets during the first stanza, as they went 12-for-24 from the field.

Tennessee started the second half on a 13-0 run, and this was due to the play of Zolman. The Lady Volunteers took their first lead since the 15:58 mark of the first half when Zolman knocked down a three pointer at the 18:09 mark of the second half. The freshman scored 10 points during the run.

The Commodores attempted to make a late run, but were only able to get as close as nine. Lawson and Zolman continued to play at a high level on the offensive end and finished the game as Tennessee's high scorers. The two combined for 46 points on 16-for-24 shooting, while combining to go 9-for-12 from three-point range.

Anderson finished as the high scorer for the Commodores, as she tallied 21 points. McElhiney recorded another double-double, as she turned in 16 points and 10 assists. Tennessee was able to keep forward Jenni Benningfield in check all night, as the junior only scored eight points and added one rebounded.

Vanderbilt returns to action at 7 p.m. Thursday, February 6, when it hosts Alabama at Memorial Gymnasium. It will be the 27th meeting all-time between these two foes with the Commodores leading the series, 16-10. The Commodores have won the last three meetings over the Crimson Tide.