Commodores battle through adversity

By Travis Young

The Vanderbilt women’s basketball season to this point could be wrapped up in small three-word phrase, “battling through adversity.”

With the ‘Dores in the midst of a tough four-game stretch to open conference play and a trip to Knoxville in the coming days, the injured-plagued Commodores knew they needed to play its best game of the season to top the Bulldogs.

Not only did the Commodores have a two-game losing streak on its back, it also had to prepare for the undefeated and sixth-ranked Bulldogs without its floor general Jence Rhoads and a banged up Lauren Lueders.

However, over the years VU has responded extremely well under adversity under head coach Melanie Balcomb and that held true again as VU manhandled Georgia in Memorial Gym on Thursday, winning 66-44.

With Rhoads sitting out with a wrist injury, Balcomb challenged the freshman duo of Elan Brown and Gabby Smith to step up and help fill the void of Jence against the Bulldogs. And did they respond.

The freshman trio of Tiffany Clarke, Brown and Smith combined to score 37 of VU’s 66 points (56 percent), including career-high performances from Brown (11 pts) and Smith (12 pts), to give VU it’s sixth win in the last seven meetings with Georgia.

“The freshmen have played so much in practice and they have responded well to our coaching staff,” Balcomb said. “It was obvious tonight that they were listening to what we were saying. You have to respond to our coaching in order to run our game. It's amazing how well the freshmen responded. They have to shoot the ball and not be hesitant and that was what was different about Gabby and Elan's game tonight.”

If the ‘Dores can get a total team effort out of an already short-handed roster on Sunday in Knoxville, Vanderbilt has a good chance to knock off its second-straight top-10 opponent.

In case you missed last night’s action, you can check out all the postgame reaction from VU’s 22-point win over Georgia, including highlights, interviews and photos by clicking here.

Tori Jarosz completes 2010 class

By Weinman - The signing of Tori Jarosz has completed the Vanderbilt women's basketball incoming class of 2010. A 6-3 post player from Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., Jarosz becomes the fourth prep standout to sign a National Letter of Intent to play for Head Coach Melanie Balcomb's Commodores. The complete release of the four signees will be available on vucommodores.com shortly.

Kayci Ferriss inks Vandy NLI

By Weinman - Kayci Ferriss became the third prep standout to submit a National Letter of Intent to play basketball next year for Head Coach Melanie Balcomb's Commodores, faxing in her forms around 3 p.m. this afternoon. Ferris is a 6-8 post player from nearby Gordonsville, Tenn. -- just one hour east of Vanderbilt's campus. Playing for the Smith County High School Lady Owls, Ferriss averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds per game for the 2008-09 season.

WBB adds Jasmine Lister

By Weinman - Jasmine Lister became the second future Commodore to sign a National Letter of Intent this morning. The fax came through around 11 a.m. CT. Lister is a 5-5 point guard from Corona, Calif., and plays her prep ball at Santiago High School. She's rated a Top 25 point guard by Hoopgurlz and is a two-time first-team All-State honoree in California.

Christina Foggie signs WBB NLI

By Weinman - The first National Letter of Intent for the Head Coach Melanie Balcomb's women's basketball team came in around 8:45 a.m. CT this morning from Christina Foggie. A 5-10 guard from Mount Laurel, N.J., Foggie averaged 23.4 points per game as a junior at Lenape High School. She is pictured above in her AAU uniform for a Fencor team that finished third at the 15u National Championships in Cincinnati in 2008.

Will you hold the rope?

By Weinman - Every year the senior women's basketball players choose a short saying to go on the back of the team's practice jerseys. This year, that team motto is "hold the rope."

The phrase comes from a written passage that senior Merideth Marsh brought to the team. We talked to a few of the girls on the team to find out what "hold the rope" means to them.

Stallings, Balcomb on SportsLine Wednesday

By Weinman - Vanderbilt Head Basketball Coaches Kevin Stallings and Melanie Balcomb have been scheduled to appear on NewsChannel5+ SportsLine this Wednesday night, Nov. 4, 8-9 p.m. CT.

Both Commodore mentors will appear with host and WTVF Sports Director Hope Hines for live 30-minute segments which will include interviews and phone calls from the audience.

Stallings will be on the show from 8:00-8:30, with Balcomb taking the 8:30-9:00 slot. Commodore fans are encouraged to call in to the show at (615) 737-7767.

NewsChannel5+ broadcasts on Comcast Cable channel 250. SportsLine airs every Monday through Wednesday from 8 p.m. until 9 p.m., with re-airs Monday through Thursday at 4:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Some segments of SportsLine are also made available at http://newschannel5.com/.

WBB kicks off 2009 Kidney Walk

By Weinman - It may be game day for the football team down in Baton Rouge, but the Commodore women's basketball team is still two months away from tipping off its season. Student-athletes and support staff still were up bright and early on Saturday to volunteer at the 10th Annual Nashville Kidney Walk at River Park in Brentwood.

The team hosted shooting contests on the basketball court, giving away T-shirts and logo basketballs while interacting with many of those who gathered to participate in the fundraising event. The walk raised money for the National Kidney Foundation while raising awareness to the need for organ donation and kidney disease prevention. Recent studies indicate that kidney disease is on the rise and as many as 26 million Americans have chronic kidney disease.

Click here to see a photo gallery from Saturday's Nashville Kidney Walk

The Nashville community has always been integral in the Commodores' success (Vanderbilt went 7-0 against SEC opponents last year in front of the home crowd at Memorial Gymnasium) and opportunities to give back by volunteering in the off-season are especially important to the team.

WBB Staff Catches Fan Fever

By Weinman - Last night the Indiana Fever topped the Chicago Sky, 74-67, in an exhibition contest in Indianapolis. In attendance for the game, which pitted former Commodore teammates Christina Wirth (above) and Jennifer Risper against each other, were members of the Vanderbilt coaching staff. Click the picture above for a larger version, and notice who is sitting just to the right of the basketball....

Another big "Thank You!" to the Fever photographer Frank McGrath and P.R. director Kevin Messenger, who have been extremely helpful in sending pictures and information back to Nashville. McGrath also included a shot of Wirth and Fever teammate Katie Douglas playing a little defense in the Fever's photo gallery.

Vandy's 100/100 Club

By Weinman - Friday has been highlighted by Commencement on Vanderbilt's campus. Due to some inclement weather on Friday morning, the main graduation ceremony was moved inside Memorial Gymnasium. I imagine the three graduates above (Amy Malo, Jenn Risper and Tina Wirth, pictured with Coach Balcomb) felt right at home in those friendly confines.

In their four years in Nashville, this trio continued Vanderbilt's winning tradition by claiming a total of 100 victories while wearing the black and gold uniforms. Today, exchanging jerseys for black caps and gowns with gold tassels, they continued a tradition of even more importance at VU -- 100% graduation. Congratulations, ladies!

Balcomb on 560 AM at 12:20 p.m. CT

by Barca Blog - Commodore fans can catch women's basketball head coach Melanie Balcomb on The Thom Abraham Show on WNSR 560 AM today at 12:20 p.m. CT. If you don't live in the Nashville are, you can listen to the segment live online.

One team

(On the road with the women's basketball team in Albuquerque for the NCAA Tournament)

By Barca Blog - Head Coach Melanie Balcomb addressed the press earlier today to discuss the Commodores' NCAA First Round matchup with Western Carolina.

Balcomb was asked about what she's learned from the tournament over the years:

"I think it's about momentum, players feeling well about how they are practicing and really focusing on yourself, just like we have tried to do previously. It's all about one team, and one team only. We don't look past anybody or talk about anybody else. We try to treat it a lot like the SEC Tournament down the stretch.

"I'm just trying to get them to continue their momentum. We played so well for three games back to back to back, and then coming off a championship in the SEC. Were trying to keep everything positive at this point."

You could say Balcomb knows a thing or two about March Madness. She's led the Commodores to the NCAA Tournament in each of her seven seasons on West End with three Sweet 16's in that span.

2009 SEC WBB Postseason Awards

By Weinman - The Southeastern Conference will announce its postseason awards for women's basketball this afternoon at 2 p.m. CT. Vanderbilt is the No. 2 seed in the upcoming conference tournament, and a number of Commodores are in the running for individual accolades.

Let's hear your predictions for today's announcement. The categories are:
Coach of the Year
Player of the Year
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Freshman of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
Sixth Woman of the Year
All-SEC First Team
All-SEC Second Team
All-Defensive Team
All-Freshman Team

Balcomb on radio Thursday morning

By Barca Blog - Women's Basketball head coach Melanie Balcomb will appear on the 104.5 Wake Up Zone with Kevin Ingram and Mark Howard Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. CT.

No. 18 Vanderbilt has a huge matchup with No. 3 Auburn Thursday night at 8 p.m. CT inside Memorial Gym. The Commodores (20-6, 9-2 SEC) trail the Tigers (25-1, 10-1) by one game in the SEC standings with only three games remaining in the regular season. Tickets are still available and can be ordered online by clicking here or by calling (615) 322-GOLD.

Balcomb's on 104.5 Tuesday

Posted by Barca Blog

Women's basketball head coach Melanie Balcomb is scheduled to appear on the 104.5 Sports Zone Tuesday night at approximately 6:45 p.m. CT. This segment will air just before Joe Fisher's pregame show (7 p.m.) for the men’s basketball game against Kentucky.

The women's team will next host SEC-leader No. 5 Auburn for Senior Day Thursday night at 8 p.m. CT. The Commodores (20-6, 9-2 SEC) stand only one game behind the Tigers (25-1, 10-1) with just three games remaining in conference action. Tickets are still available and can be ordered online by clicking here or by calling (615) 322-GOLD.

Watch Balcomb's TV Show

Make sure you check out this week's episode of Comcast Spotlight's Commodore Connection with Melanie Balcomb. Here's a listing for program dates and times:

CSS (locally) - Tuesday, January 20 at 6:30 a.m. CT
Comcast Ch. 49 (locally) - Tuesday, January 20 at 7:30 p.m. CT
CSS (regionally) - Wednesday, January 21 at 4:00 p.m. CT

For the season schedule, including air dates for Kevin Stallings' show, click here.

A long time coming ...

Women's basketball head coach Melanie Balcomb hadn't beaten Tennessee since she coached Xavier to a victory over the Lady Vols in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.

Until today.

No. 24 Vanderbilt used a 20-4 run in the second half to roll past the seventh-ranked Lady Vols 74-58 in front of 9,650 fans packed inside Memorial Gym.

The victory snapped Tennessee's 16-game winning streak in the series, and more importantly, pushed the Commodores to 2-0 in the SEC as they chase for that coveted regular season title.

Balcomb talked about what the win meant in her postgame press conference, and Tennessee coach Pat Head Summitt offered praise for the Commodores in defeat.

Melanie Balcomb:

"Here's all I have to say. I guess I can finally smile for once."

"I never relax. I was tense until the clock hit zero. I just told the girls that we can never let up, never relax. We have to win every possession. This is all starting to be a blur already, but I remember hugging Tina (Wirth) and (Jennifer) Risper and saying 'we did it!'"

Pat Head Summitt:

"Vanderbilt was the better team from tip off to the end. They had an incredible ability to take us off the dribble. This is the most aggressive Vanderbilt team we have ever played and definitely the most aggressive team we've played this season. You have to give Melanie credit. You can't take a thing away from Vanderbilt. We simply did not go out there and represent. We've been playing a half a game, instead of a full 40 minutes. We need to go back and get our defense better."

For more reaction including video highlights, interviews and photos, click here.