Albuquerque, NM (My Sportsbook) - Christina Wirth poured in 23 points to lead the fourth-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores to a convincing, 73-44 victory over the 13th-seeded Western Carolina Lady Catamounts in first round action of the NCAA Tournament. Jennifer Risper added 11 points and nine rebounds for Vandy (25-8), which will now take part in second round play against Kansas State. Lauren Powell and Brooke Johnson led the way with only eight points apiece for Western Carolina (21-12), which saw its 10-game winning streak come to an end. The Commodores held the Lady Catamounts to just 21.2 percent shooting from the field in the first half and went into the break with a strong, 29-18 lead. Vandy pulled further away with an 11-2 run to open the second half, and used a 57.7 percent shooting effort in the final 20 minutes of action, en route to the 29-point win. The Commodores scored 26 points off 18 Western Carolina turnovers, while the Lady Catamounts posted just six points off 11 Vandy miscues. |
