Jence Rhoads

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — With one honor already in her back pocket, Jence Rhoads desperately wants another: A Southeastern Conference championship.

On Tuesday, the same day she was selected to the All-SEC first team for the second consecutive year, the Vanderbilt University senior and Slippery Rock High graduate expressed her desire to achieve much more in her final season.

“I think we’re definitely capable of making a run,” said Rhoads of the SEC tournament, which for the Commodores begins Friday in the quarterfinals. “We like where we are in the bracket and we’re getting ready.”

It’s been an up-and-down season for Vanderbilt (19-10), but there has been nothing up-and-down about Rhoads’ play.

The guard leads the team in scoring at 12.6 points per game, in assists at 4.8 per contest and in steals with 30.

For Rhoads, it’s like a flashback to her senior year at Slippery Rock, where she was surrounded by a slew of young players and led the team to the brink of the state championship game.

Vandy has started two sophomores and a freshman around Rhoads and senior Hannah Tuomi. The first player off the bench also is a freshman.

“I had to be kind of a coach on the floor again like I was at Slippery Rock with my sisters (Karly and Kourtney) when they were freshmen,” Rhoads said. “We have quite a few freshmen and sophomores playing quite a few minutes. They listen to what I have to say.”

Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb has relied on Rhoads to do more than just score points and make passes on the court.

She’s needed Rhoads to nurture a young team.

“The team comes first with her,” Balcomb said.

Rhoads said she marvels at how confident the younger players have become.

She remembers when she was a freshman. Confidence, she said, sometimes eluded her.

“They came in and never batted an eye, never seemed scared of anything,” Rhoads said. “We have a lot of offensive weapons developing here. They still have a lot to learn, but being confident hasn’t been a problem

“My confidence wavered a little bit when I was a freshman,” Rhoads added. “But that was just the type of player I was. I was a passer first when I came here, they are scorers.”

Rhoads is trying not to think about the rapidly approaching end of her college career.

Even if the Commodores should lose in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, they probably will earn a eighth or ninth seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Rhoads said she hopes she has plenty more games to play.

“I don’t want to think about it because I hope to be playing for a little while longer,” Rhoads said. “But you do start to cherish every moment. You just take that much more pride when you put on that uniform knowing it could be for the last time.”