'Dores win opener over Lehigh, 90-54

Clarke leads the Commodores with 14 points

Nov. 15, 2009

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Reserve Tiffany Clarke scored 14 points and Vanderbilt (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, No. 22 AP) rolled to a 90-54 victory over Lehigh on Sunday.

The Commodores (1-0) took a 47-24 lead with 1:05 left in the first half. The Mountain Hawks (1-1) used a 14-0 run to cut their deficit to 47-38 with 18:09 remaining on a basket by Emily Gratch. Vanderbilt responded with eight straight points to pull away.

The Commodores shot 55.6 percent (35 of 63) for the game, including 61.8 percent (21 of 34) in the first half.

Lauren Lueders added 13 points and Hannah Tuomi had 12 for Vanderbilt. Jence Rhoads recorded a career-high 10 assists for the Commodores, who won the Southeastern Conference tournament championship and reached the round of 16 of the NCAA tournament last season.

Gratch had 14 points for Lehigh, which was playing Vanderbilt for the first time.