Rhoads and Merideth Marsh had 17 points apiece for Vanderbilt (9-1). Tiffany Clarke added 14 points and sank two free throws with 6 seconds to play to give the Commodores a 75-71 lead.

"This is the way we've been playing all year," Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb said. "We're winning ugly. We've been falling behind in every game. We fell behind 24-3 against Bowling Green and that's the game we lost."

Quinnipiac's Kathleen Neyens hit a 3-pointer as time expired. Neyens, who finished with a team-high 15 points, claimed she was fouled on the shot.

"I felt I was hit but there was no call," Neyens said.

Quinnipiac, hosting a nationally ranked team for the first time in school history, hit its first four 3-point shots and raced out to a 29-13 lead.

Quinnipiac took a 41-34 lead into the break then scored the first six points of the second half, but the Commodores responded with a 15-0 run to take their first lead of the game 5 minutes into the second half.

"I think we wore them down a bit," Balcomb said. "They started missing and we got some long rebounds and that led to breaks."

There were 13 lead changes in the second half before Rhoads's 10-footer from the corner gave Vandy the lead for good.

"There are no moral victories," Quinnipiac coach Tricia Fabbri said. "When you work that hard and get that close it really does sting. You think of all the good things that could come out of beating a nationally ranked team."