Vanderbilt women outlast Arkansas in overtime 72-61

Arkansas’ ability to rebound nearly spelled disaster for Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball team on Thursday.

Not only did the Razorbacks dominate the rebounding the in the traditional sense, they also showed an uncanny knack to rebound from stretches of sub-par play. Arkansas compiled a devastating 58-28 advantage on the boards and overcame double-digit deficits in both halves, 15 points in the second, to force overtime.

The good news for the 20th-ranked Commodores was that extra period lasted just five minutes, which did not allow Arkansas enough time to bounce back once again. VU scored the final 13 points (11 on free throws) and escaped with a 72-61 victory before 4,112 at Memorial Gymnasium.

“Free throws is definitely a mental thing,” Merideth Marsh, who scored a career-high 21 points, said. “Some of us are kind of sick of missing free throws as we have in close games. (Thursday) night, people did step up and knock down free throws when it was on the line, and that was key.”

Jessica Mooney started the closing surge with four straight foul shots. Jennifer Risper contributed five points with a driving layup and three free throws, and Marsh and Lauren Lueders each made a pair from the line.

During the preceding 40 minutes, VU was made just seven of 12 (58.3 percent) foul shots.

“When the game got into overtime, I think Vanderbilt’s experience took over,” Arkansas coach Tom Collen said. “They found a way to win it, and we found a way to lose it.”

It was a similar scenario to the opening five minutes of the contest, when Vanderbilt (16-5, 5-1 in the SEC) jumped out to a 9-0 lead. The Commodores held Arkansas (12-9, 1-5) scoreless for the first 5:45 and led by as many as 12 during the first half.

Likewise, VU started the second half with a 13-6 run over the first 4:05. Just over seven minutes later, the margin was 15 points, 55-40.

Both times the Razorbacks rebounded – in more ways than one. They closed to within one, 27-26, at halftime and tied it twice in the final two minutes of regulation then had a shot to win it at the buzzer.

“It was really tough to watch us play really well and then relax and let people back into the game,” Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb said. “… We’ve been working on rebounding more than we ever have in my life, and we didn’t get it done (Thursday). They just killed us on the boards.”

VU opponents averaged 33.2 rebounds per contest coming into the night, but Arkansas had 32, including 16 offensive boards, at halftime. The Razorbacks’ final total was 13 more than any previous opponent while the Commodores managed just one more than their season-low.

Sophomore Whitney Jones, a 6-foot post, and junior Ashley McCray, a 6-foot-3 post, each had career-highs in rebounds with 17 and 15, respectively. McCray also delivered a career-high 20 points (more than 16 above her season average) in 28 minutes off the bench.

“That was clearly the difference in the rebounding game,” Collen said. “Having (McCray) in the game alongside Whitney Jones, who’s a pretty good rebounder, it was just really hard for (Vanderbilt) to keep those kids off the boards.”

The victory combined with an Auburn loss moved Vanderbilt into a three-way tie for first in the SEC. Those two and Florida all have won five of six.

“Obviously, it’s about more than the win,” senior Christina Wirth said. “I’m proud of us just because we stuck together and fought this one out. Obviously, it wasn’t our best performance and we need to make a lot of adjustments.

“Bottom line – we got the win, but we need to get back to doing what we do. And we need to it better every game.”