Vanderbilt women's hoops survives scare at Quinnipiac

Hannah Tuomi’s two free throws with six seconds to play put the game out of reach as Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball team overcame an upset bid by Quinnipiac and won 75-74 on the road in Connecticut Thursday.

Neither team led by more than three over the final 16 minutes until Tumoi’s free throws. Jence Rhoads gave the 18th-ranked Commodores a 73-71 lead with 39 seconds to go. Quinnipiac’s Kathleen Neyens made a 3-pointer with one second to go.

Tumoi, a junior, and freshman Tiffany Clarke set up the back-and-forth final minutes when they combined to erase a 13-point deficit early in the second half. Tumoi had seven points and Clarke had six as the Commodores tied it 47-47 with 15:13 to go.

Rhoads gave Vanderbilt (9-10) its first lead of the half, 49-47, with a layup 20 seconds later.

Rhoads and Merideth Marsh each had a game-high 17 points in addition to six and five assists, respectively. Clarke added 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Tuomi finished with 11 points.

Quinnipiac (2-5) led by as many as 16 in the first half, but Vanderbilt closed to within seven, 41-34, with a 13-6 run over the final 3:23 of the half.

Neyens led four Bobcats in double figures with 15 points.