Fracture can't hold Rhoads back
NASHVILLE — A broken bone in her off-hand can't stop Jence Rhoads.
The Vanderbilt University junior point guard and Slippery Rock High graduate fractured a bone in her left hand early in January. She missed two games, but is back in the Commodores' lineup.
She scored 25 points in a must-win over Kentucky last week, showing no signs that her injury is slowing her down.
"It's feeling a lot better," Rhoads said in a postgame interview recently. "I have to play with my fingers taped. It's hard for a guard, but I've adapted."
Sitting out those two games — a win over Georgia and a loss to archrival Tennessee — was more painful to Rhoads than her fractured hand.
She never missed a game at Slippery Rock or at Vanderbilt until the injury derailed her durability streak.
"I hate sitting out," Rhoads said. "It was awful, pretty much torture."
The only torture going on now is what Rhoads is doing to the opposition.
She is averaging 13.6 points per game while piling up assists for Vanderbilt (18-8, 7-6), which has had a disappointing season by Commodore standards.
Vandy is in a fight for its conference playoff life. If the Commodores are going to reach the postseason, it might be Rhoads who leads them there.
Despite the injury, Rhoads is still taking care of the basketball. Her assist-to-turnover ratio is still better than 2 to 1.
"That's exactly why she's out there for us," said Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb following a win against Florida. "She's tough, she's physical and she's not going to let anyone take the ball away from her."
What has changed is Rhoads' willingness to put the team on her back and carry it with scoring, much as she did with her high school team at Slippery Rock.
"Jence sometimes gets in a mode where she's driving because she's told to drive. She's shooting when she's told to shoot," Balcomb said. "She has trouble being the leading scorer sometimes. She likes leading in assists. (Against Kentucky), she drove to score and get fouled in the second half.
"Even on ball screens, she turned the corner and attacked to score. She had to score for us to do well. Most kids would embrace that, but Jence is a facilitator. She likes to give to other people," the coach added.
Rhoads' play certainly caught the attention of Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell, who gushed about Rhoads after watching her single-handedly — literally — beat his team Sunday.
"She's fantastic," he said. "I said before the game and after our last game (against Vanderbilt), she is clearly one of the best guards in our league. She's so good with change of pace and change of direction. She does so well with both hands. She's an incredible player."
