Feb 21, 2002
By STEVE BAILEY
AP Sports Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky didn’t have an answer for Vanderbilt’s Chantelle Anderson.
Anderson spoiled the Wildcats’ senior night festivities, making 12 of 16 shots and finishing with 28 points to lead the No. 6 Commodores to a 73-57 victory Thursday night.
Anderson came in averaging 28 points against Kentucky, which dropped its 12th straight game. She scored 33 against the Wildcats in a 71-54 victory on Jan. 10.
“I really don’t have anything against them,” Anderson said. “We just did a good job executing.”
Zuzi Klimesova had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and freshman Ashley Early added a career-high 16 points and seven rebounds for Vanderbilt (23-6, 9-4 Southeastern Conference), which has won three of four.
“I thought we played terrific,” Vanderbilt coach Jim Foster said, glancing at the stat sheet. “Everything I look at on this tells me we played well.”
Rita Adams and Shambrica Jones had 12 points each, and SeSe Helm added 11 to lead the Wildcats (8-18, 1-12).
“I’m very proud of this basketball team,” Kentucky coach Bernadette Mattox said. “Even down 22, we continued to fight. Not once did they stop working.”
No matter how hard the Wildcats worked, however, they could not shut down Anderson, who made 6 of 7 shots and scored 15 points in the second half.
“She really does a great job getting where she needs to on the court,” Mattox said of Vanderbilt’s 6-foot-6 junior. “She did everything for them.”
Vanderbilt, which started the Wildcats’ losing streak with the Jan. 10 victory, shot 53 percent to Kentucky’s 42 percent and outrebounded the Wildcats 37-21.
“Every win in this league is a statement,” Foster said. “The fact we finished on the plus side on the road this season is significant.”
Kentucky’s only lead came on Adams’ long 3-pointer less than a minute in.
Anderson and Earley scored 10 of Vanderbilt’s first 12 points, most coming from within six feet of the basket. Jenni Benningfield’s 3-pointer gave the Commodores a 15-10 lead at the 12-minute mark.
Earley scored six straight points to spark a 16-4 run, increasing the margin to 37-21 with 1:47 remaining. Anderson scored the team’s final three points as the Commodores held a 39-24 halftime lead.
For the half, Vanderbilt shot 57 percent to Kentucky’s 38 percent and outrebounded the Wildcats 22-8.
Anderson then scored the first seven points of the second half to give Vanderbilt a 46-24 lead. Kentucky would get no closer than 15 the rest of the way.
Vanderbilt led by as many as 21 on several occasions. An 11-3 run gave the Commodores a 69-48 lead with 3:57 remaining.
“Our game plan is taking what the other team gives us, and that’s what we were able to do tonight,” Foster said.
