'Cats Battle No. 17 Vanderbilt, Fall in Opening Game of Tournament

Friday, November 28

Nashville, TN

3:00 p.m.

Davidson College

No. 17 Vanderbilt

Junior Julia Paquette

'Cats Battle No. 17 Vanderbilt, Fall in Opening Game of Tournament

11/28/2008 6:09:17 PM | Women's Basketball

Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID

Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- For the first time this year Davidson had three players score in double figures, but No. 17/17 Vanderbilt proved to be too much in the second half, nailing 54.5 percent of its shots in the half on its way to taking an 82-50 decision over the Wildcats in the first game of the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament on Friday afternoon in women's basketball action.

Playing in its last in-season tournament of the year, Davidson fell to 1-4 on the year. The Wildcats also played their fifth ranked opponent in the past four years as they have faced the likes of Georgia (twice), Auburn, North Carolina and now Vanderbilt, all which were ranked in the top-25 of either poll, during that time period.

The Commodores picked up their fifth win of the year to improve to 5-1 and advanced onto the championship game tomorrow.

Despite the 32-point setback, Davidson had one of its best shooting games to date as it shot a season-best 45 percent from the field. The 'Cats also out-boarded their opponent for the third time with a 34-27 edge on the glass.

Junior Julia Paquette (Stockbridge, Ga.), who helped the Wildcats win the battle on the boards with a game-and career-high nine rebounds, eight of them on the defensive end, tied for top team honors in scoring with 13 points.

Sophomore Ashley Lax (Little Rock, Ark.) shared the lead with Paquette with 13 of her own points, and senior Mercedes Robinson (Baltimore, Md.) rounded out the trio of double-figure scorers for Davidson with a even 10 points. Lax, who was 5-of-11 from the field, set a personal-best with three made shots from downtown.

Vanderbilt matched Davidson with three of its own players in double-figures, led by Hannah Tuomi's game-high 16 points. All-SEC pick Christina Wirth (14) and Merideth Marsh (10) also hit for double digits in the winning effort. Tuomi and Wirth combined for 11 of Vandy's 27 rebounds.

The early part of the first half showcased the inside play of Paquette and Tuomi, who nearly matched each other point-for-point. Paquette dropped in all 13 of her points in the first half, including a three-point play that brought the 'Cats to within five at 19-14 halfway through the stanza.

Tuomi scored 10 of the Commodores' first 19 points and closed the half with 12, including two free throws that pushed the Vandy lead out to seven at 29-22 with 4:59 left in the period.

Tia Gibbs provided the Commodores with some outside scoring, draining the last of four three-pointers made in the half by Vanderbilt, and also scored five of the final seven Vandy points, to send the Commodores into halftime with a 36-24 advantage.

Tuomi then helped spark a 9-0 run to start the second half with four points, and Vanderbilt opened up a 45-24 lead before the first break in action at the 15:50 mark.

A Lax jump shot in the paint brought Davidson within 16 at 45-29, before the Commodores rattled off a 20-6 run over the next five minutes to take a commanding 65-35 lead on its way to the 82-50 victory.

Davidson will next play either Virginia Tech or St. Joseph's, which both play in the second game of the day, tomorrow at 2 p.m.(CT).

Game Notes: This was Davidson's first trip to Nashville since playing the Commodores back on Nov. 14, 1997 ... the last time Davidson dropped four of its first five games to start the year was the 2005-06 season, but the Wildcats went on to finish 17-12 overall ... the double-digit games by Lax and Robinson marked the third time this season they each have score 10 or more points ... junior Moncia Laune dished out a season-high five assists and Davidson as a team matched their team-best in a game with 12.