Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic
No. 14 Vanderbilt
Owls Fall To No. 14 Vanderbilt 81-49
11/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 24, 2006
Nashville, TN - Florida Atlantic kept the score close for much of the first-half, but No. 14 Vanderbilt (5-0) showed its dominance in the second on its way to an 81-49 victory on Friday. The game was the first of the Vanderbilt thanksgiving tournament.
"I was pleased with the squads' efforts to shut down their leading scorer and control the boards," said Head Coach Chancellor Dugan. "Our early season record is not indicative of the quality of this team."
The Owls started the contest with an early 10-9 lead after a Sally N'Diaye layup with 15:42 left in the first. Vanderbilt had problems solving FAU's zone-defense for much of the first half and watched a 12-point lead dwindle to a 29-25 advantage with 2:04 to play. The Commodores would end the frame on a good note, after Lauren Lueders sunk a triple with 36 seconds left to give them an 11-point lead heading into the locker room.
Mistoria Brown had seven of her team-high 11-points in the first frame. Vanderbilt was only able to shoot 36.1 percent in the first-half, but took advantage of 15 FAU turnovers.
In the second stanza, the Commodores came out of the gates red-hot, going on an 8-0 run three minutes into the period. They would assure the victory after extending their lead to 53-29 on a 17-4 run with 11:53 to play. FAU would not get the score any closer than 20.
Sally N'Diaye knotted 10-points and four rebounds on the day. It was the senior's first double-digit performance of the season. Cristal Randolph had nine points all coming from three-point land. Brown led the Owls with seven rebounds.
Vanderbilt shot 58.6 percent in the second half, and was led in scoring by Caroline William's 17-point effort. Christina Wirth and Lauren Leaders paced the Commodores with 12 and 11 points respectively.
FAU is back in action tomorrow at 1 p.m. eastern to take on Belmont (2-2) in the Vanderbilt thanksgiving tournament consolation game. All games this season can be heard live on fausports.com.
