Orangewomen Lose to Eighth-Ranked Vanderbilt, 73-65
11/26/2002 10:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse women's basketball team lost a 73-65 decision to #9/8 Vanderbilt in its home opener Tuesday evening at Manley Field House. The Commodores are now 2-0, while the Orangewomen are 0-3.
Freshman forward Tierra Jackson (Upper Marlboro, Md./Frederick Douglass) led the Orangewomen with 16 points and 11 rebounds, both career-highs. It was Jackson's first career double-double.
Vanderbilt jumped out to a 19-9 lead six minutes into the game. Sophomore guard Rochelle Coleman (Burtonsville, Md./Paint Branch) kept SU close, scoring all 12 of her points in the first half. She helped lead Syracuse on a 21-11 run of its own to knot the score at 30 apiece with 2:11 remaining in the half. Vanderbilt took a 37-34 lead into halftime.
The second stanza started much like the first. Vanderbilt went on an 11-0 spurt to take a 48-34 lead with 16:00 to play. Junior forward Shannon Perry (Providence, R.I./LaSalle) scored SU's first points of the half at the 14:29 mark, and the teams traded baskets for the next 10 minutes.
Junior guard Julie McBride's (Mechanicville, N.Y./Catholic Central) three-pointer ignited a 13-2 scoring run. A lay-up by Perry pulled Syracuse within 66-63 with 1:59 remaining. That was as close as the Orangewomen would get, however, as Vanderbilt scored seven of the game's final nine points.
McBride finished the game with 15 points and six assists. She moved into ninth place on the Orangewomen's career assist ledger with 305. Perry added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Jenni Benningield led the Commodores with 19 points and eight rebounds. Chantelle Anderson had 11 points and four rebounds in only 16 minutes before fouling out. Ashley Earley and Hillary Hager added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Syracuse gets back on the court November 29th when it takes on the University of California in Berkeley.
