NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Vanderbilt's Zuzi Klimesova has this NCAA
tournament thing figured out.
"I just stopped thinking," she explained after scoring 20
points, 12 while leading scorer Chantelle Anderson was out with
four fouls, to lead the Commodores past Colorado 65-59 on Monday
night in the second round of the Midwest Regional.
|  | | Colorado found a way to trip Vanderbilt's Ashley McElhiney on this play, but Vandy is moving on. |
Vanderbilt trailed by four points when Anderson, a 6-foot-6
center who leads the nation in field-goal percentage, picked up her
fourth foul with 14:20 to play. She scored 22 points.
Klimesova carried the Commodores (23-9) until Anderson returned
almost nine minutes later, and together they lifted Vanderbilt into
the regional semifinals in Denver against Iowa State.
"When I went to the bench I was really disappointed, but this
team is getting used to playing with me in foul trouble,
unfortunately," Anderson said. "I told Zuzi that big players step
up in big games. She stepped up. She took on the big girls inside,
and it was awesome."
Jenny Roulier led the Buffaloes (22-9) with 17 points and Eisha
Bohman added 14.
Jenni Benningfield added 11 points and 11 rebounds for
Vanderbilt. Klimesova and Anderson each had 10 rebounds.
Colorado led 43-39 when Anderson had to sit down, but Klimesova
filled the void and then some. Her basket with seven minutes left
put the Commodores up 56-53 and her 3-pointer at 5:48 made it
59-55.
"We knew she'd go to center and that could be dangerous for
us," Colorado coach Ceal Barry said. "Then your worst nightmare
is she comes out and shoots the 3. She was my biggest concern going
in, and unfortunately that came true."
Two free throws by Jillian Danker stretched Vanderbilt's
lead to 61-55. A basket by Colorado's Linda Lappe with 2:09 to go
made it 61-57. Then Anderson sealed the game with a three-point
play at 1:52 for a 64-57 lead.
One more basket by Lappe was all the Buffaloes could manage.
"We just play differently (with Anderson out)," Vanderbilt
coach Jim Foster said. "When she comes out we can put five people
on the floor who can handle the ball and shoot the 3. It's a hard
team to guard. If your goal is to guard Chantelle, then all of a
sudden it's a different team."
Anderson, who had two 3-point field goals all season, added two
more Monday. The second tied the game at 37 early in the second
half, the first of five ties in the half.
When she was in the game Vanderbilt was determined to go inside
to Anderson, who is on the verge of putting the most efficient
shooting season in NCAA history into the books, and Colorado was
just as determined to stop it. Players guarding Anderson picked up
six fouls in the first 7½ minutes, including two each against the
starting and reserve centers.
The battle was a draw in the first half; Anderson scored 11
points but Colorado led 33-30 behind Roulier's 12 points.
Vanderbilt, the nation's top shooting team at 55 percent, was
held to 44 percent.
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Women's College Basketball Scoreboard
Colorado Clubhouse
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