No Southeastern Conference team, no matter how powerful, could stop Vanderbilt at Memorial Gym this season. No. 3 Auburn was the final, and best, victim of the unflappable Commodores on Thursday night.
Thanks to two clutch free throws by junior guard Merideth Marsh, No. 18 Vanderbilt knocked off the Tigers with a 73-70 victory, capping a perfect conference run at Memorial Gymnasium against its toughest opponent yet. The Commodores (21-6, 10-2) took over first place in the SEC and control their own destiny from here on out; should they win their next two games, including the finale at rival Tennessee, they will be SEC regular season champions for the first time ever.
Sophomore guard Jence Rhoads scored a career-high 16 points, 12 in the first half, to pace Vanderbilt, while seniors Christina Wirth and Jen Risper, playing in their final home game, scored 14 apiece. The Tigers had a furious rally at the finish but came up short in losing just their second game of the season.
"We didn't stop fighting and we didn't just give up or roll over," Risper said. "I'm proud of us."
After the game, Senior Night ceremonies were held to honor Wirth, Risper and Amy Malo. A highlight video of the players was shown and they were each individually recognized before giving brief statements of thanks to their teammates, coaches and fans.
"I am extremely blessed to have these girls; they're like sisters," Wirth said.
Senior Night was no distraction, though.
"The biggest thing was we set a goal to win the SEC, so I think we were more concerned with that than anything else going on," Risper said.
The seniors' final win at Memorial Gym didn't come easily after Vanderbilt led by as many as 18 points and led by seven with under two minutes to play.
The Tigers (25-2, 10-2) pulled within three after five straight points by Ali Smalley sandwiched around a free throw by Risper. After Wirth missed a jumper, Trevesha Jackson scored on a breakaway to pull within one point, as close as the game had been since Vanderbilt led 4-3 in the opening minutes.
Auburn then fouled Marsh, the team's best free throw shooter, with 11 seconds left. She calmly sunk both attempts, and the Tigers missed a desperate 3-pointer at the buzzer to snap their five-game winning streak.
After the Tigers' leading scorer DeWanna Bonner opened the game with a 3-pointer, the Commodores dominated the rest of the first half. They scored the next eight points and extended their lead to as many as 18 points on their way to a 40-24 halftime lead. They ran away from the Tigers without their usual weapon too; Tia Gibbs' 3-pointer midway through the half was their only made shot beyond the arc as Vanderbilt continually got to the basket off the dribble and through backdoor cuts for easy lay-ups. The result was a scorching 60.7 percent shooting performance from the field for the half.
"I think they were concerned with our shooters and that opened it up for our drivers," Risper said.
Auburn went on a 9-2 run to open the second half and pull within 42-33, but consecutive baskets by Tuomi and Gibbs pushed the lead back to 13. The teams kept trading baskets, but Auburn pulled to within five after a lay-up by Bonner with 6:15 to play.
Wirth hit a turn-around jumper, and Marsh hit her only 3-pointer of the game, and only the second overall for Vanderbilt, a minute later to build the lead back to 10.
Vanderbilt was able to hold off the comeback and now has two consecutive road games to keep its hold on first place, starting with a visit to Ole Miss Sunday afternoon.
"This is always when we play our best basketball, at the end of the season," Wirth said. "We're growing up as a team."
