Nov. 18, 2010

Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Vanderbilt's Stephanie Holzer scored 26 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the 20th-ranked Commodore women's basketball team to a 70-60 win over Samford Thursday night at Memorial Gymnasium.

"These were two teams that played extremely hard," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "I was definitely pleased with our effort. For our team, turnovers were a big key. We can't execute well enough when we have too many turnovers, but their defense had a lot to do with that. There's a reason they are ranked in the top 25. They're physical and they're as well-coached a team as you're ever going to face."

As a team, Samford committed 23 turnovers, while Vanderbilt turned the ball over 25 times. The Commodores out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 31-22 on the night.

Samford was led in scoring by senior forward Savannah Hill with 20 points. Freshman guard Shelby Campbell had 10 points and a team-high five rebounds. Ruth Ketcham scored nine points, while Emily London added eight points for the Bulldogs.

For Vanderbilt behind Holzer, Hannah Tuomi had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Jasmine Lister scored 14 points for the Commodores as well.

The score was close early in the first half, with Samford taking a 5-4 lead with 16:10 to go in the half after a pair of free throws by London. Vanderbilt, however, went on a 13-0 run to take a 17-5 lead with 12:20 to go in the half after two free throws by Holzer.

With Vanderbilt leading, 22-12, Samford closed the half with a 10-4 run to cut the lead to four at 26-22 heading into halftime after a layup by Hill.

Samford tied the score early in the second half at 28-28 with 17:44 to go after a three-pointer by Hannah Dawson. With Vanderbilt leading, 39-36, the Commodores went on a 14-4 run to take a 13-point lead at 53-40 with 8:48 to go after a jumper by Holzer.

Samford fought back to cut the lead to six at 55-49 with 6:43 remaining following a three-pointer by Ketcham. Vanderbilt pushed its lead back out to 13 at 64-51 with 3:24 to go after a layup by Holzer. Samford could get no closer than eight points the rest of the way as the Commodores came away with the 70-60 win.

Vanderbilt shot 57.1 percent as a team, including a 64.3-percent effort in the second half. Samford made 41.7 percent of its shots, including 56.5 percent after halftime.

With the loss, Samford drops to 0-2 on the season. Vanderbilt improves to 2-0 with the win.

Samford will return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 23, when the Bulldogs play at in-state rival Jacksonville State. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start from JSU's Pete Mathews Coliseum.