SLIPPERY ROCK — Jence Rhoads scored 2,170 points at Slippery Rock High.

She's scored 191 points in 47 games at Vanderbilt University.

Such is life at a big-time Division I women's basketball program. Nothing is easy.

"I have to get better at pretty much everything," Rhoads said. "Everyone is bigger and athletic. It's just a lot different. Everyone is just as fast as you."

Rhoads, though, is finding other ways to succeed.

The sophomore point guard led the Commodores in assists last season and is doing so again. Her assists-to-turnover ratio has improved to 3-to-1.

Rhoads is second on the team in minutes played, and, when she does shoot, is hitting 50 percent from the floor.

At the free throw line, she leads the Commodores at 83.3 percent.

All of those stats make her happy. What doesn't is her 4.7 points per game.

Her coaches have encouraged her to shoot more. Rhoads is trying to listen.

"I'm still trying to adjust to it, finding my shots," Rhoads said. "One of my goals was to be more aggressive offensively and try to become more of a shooting threat. It's still a work in progress."

During her first two years at SlipperyRock, she ran into the same problem: Her coaches implored her to shoot more.

But Rhoads is built differently than most. She prefers to set up a teammate for a basket rather than take a shot herself.

"I like to distribute the ball," she said.

Rhoads and Vandy are marked this season. The Commodores advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women's tournament last season and are among the favorites to win the stacked SEC.

At 11-2, Vandy is ranked 20th in the Associated Press poll. Tennessee (No. 8), Auburn (No. 9) and Florida (No. 18) are other ranked teams from the SEC.

Mississippi State, at 10-0, is unranked.

The SEC schedule starts in full force Jan. 11, when the Commodores host arch rival Tennessee.

"We lost two games we shouldn't have lost, but it was a learning experience," Rhoads said. "It's always a goal to beat Tennessee. It's a packed house every time."

Nothing less than a return trip to the Sweet 16 will do for Rhoads or her teammates.

The experience last year left Rhoads wanting for more.

"It was awesome," she said. "It makes you want to get back and get one step further than that. We want to get to the Elite Eight or the Final Four."

Rhoads feels more confident in her second year.

"It's a whole lot different," she said. "I know my coaches, what they expect. My teammates. I know how the college game is. Obviously, I still have a lot to learn. It's still an adjustment, but I'm getting there."

Rhoads also has given a helping hand to Butler junior Olivia Bresnahan. Vandy is recruiting the Golden Tornado star and Rhoads offered her some advice from experience.

"I just told her to take her time to make her decision," Rhoads said. "Don't let anyone pressure you to make a decision and to make sure she does what she wants to do because it is her decision to make."