I'm back ...

by Barca Blog - You might say senior forward Christina Wirth was thrilled about coming back to New Mexico for the second year in a row.

In two NCAA Tournament games at The Pit last year, Wirth combined for 34 points (12-for-19) including 7-for-11 from long range. Last night, she continued the trend, scoring a game-high 23 points (9-for-17) with three 3-pointers against Western Carolina to help the Commodores advance to the NCAA second round.

"I like Albuquerque,” Wirth told the press following Saturday’s 73-44 victory. “I got some pretty good looks and my teammates found me when I was open so I was happy to be able to knock them down.”

For much of the night, Wirth also drew the assignment of guarding the Lady Catamounts top scoring threat -- 6’4 center Brooke Johnson. She passed that challenge as well.

"I thought Tina did a really good job,” said senior Jennifer Risper. “Johnson was 3-for-11 and she is one of their go to players. I think Tina just played solid defense and challenged her shots and tried to rebound.”

It’s worth noting that Wirth’s 23-point performance moved her into 10th place on Vanderbilt’s all-time scoring list with 1,544 career points. She has also scored at least 20 points in nine of her last 12 games.