LAS VEGAS – The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team got a career-best 28-point performance from graduate student Jordyn Cambridge on Saturday to help the Commodores collect a 68-64 victory over Northern Iowa.
The Commodores leave Las Vegas going a perfect 2-0 at the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout, with wins over Iowa State and Northern Iowa. Vanderbilt improves to 7-0 to open the 2023-24 season. It marks the first time since the 2011-12 campaign that Vanderbilt has won seven-straight games to open a season.
Cambridge set new career highs in points (28) and field goals made (11), while she matched her single-game best performance in 3-point field goals made with five against Northern Iowa. The guard also added a season-best seven steals to her ledger, six of which came during the first 20 minutes of play. Cambridge was selected to the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout All-Tournament team after she averaged a team-best 20.0 points per game in Las Vegas.
Graduate student Jordyn Oliver, sophomore Justine Pissott, and freshman Khamil Pierre each registered eight points in the win. The Commodores shot 43.8% from the field in the game and outrebounded the Panthers, 39-34. Oliver just missed a double-double, as she pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds.
The Commodore defense forced UNI into 17 turnovers, which Vandy turned into 19 points.
Vanderbilt used a 10-3 spurt to open things up in the first quarter. Cambridge scored six of the Dores’ 10 points during the run, then she capped off the frame with a 3-pointer in the corner to give Vandy a 17-12 advantage. Cambridge scored a total of nine points in the opening frame.
The Commodores turned up the defensive pressure in the second quarter. Vanderbilt opened the frame on an 11-0 run to take a 28-12 advantage. Cambridge would hit her third 3-point field of the half to give Vanderbilt a 17-point lead at 31-14 with 3:48 left before halftime. The Dores forced UNI into nine turnovers in the second quarter, as Vanderbilt collected six total steals in the frame to help the Commodores take a 38-23 lead into the locker room.
Vanderbilt got back-to-back 3-pointers from Cambridge and Pissott early in the third quarter to give the Commodores a game-high 18-point lead at 46-28. Vandy maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the frame, as Cambridge ended the stanza by converting an old-fashioned 3-point play to give Vanderbilt a 55-42 advantage going into the fourth.
The Dores had to withstand a 13-2 run by Northern Iowa early in the fourth quarter, as the Panthers made it a one-possession game at 60-57 after a 4-point play with 5:21 remaining. Vanderbilt responded with a 5-0 run of its own to push its advantage back out to eight points at 65-57 after freshman Madison Greene scored on a putback layup. Vanderbilt was able to keep UNI at arms-length during the closing minute of the game, as the Commodores walked away with a 68-64 win.
Assistant Coach Kevin DeMille on Jordyn Cambridge’s Performance
“We needed everything Jordyn gave us today. She is a workhorse and she worked extremely hard on her 3-point shooting during her rehab. She wasn’t shooting the ball so great to start the year, so you’re starting to see that level out a bit. Today’s performance was important for her confidence going forward. She does a lot of things for us, but she is also one of our better scorers. It was really nice to see her perform well today.”
Assistant Coach Kevin DeMille on the Win
“Closing out another victory is something that we like a lot. Northern Iowa is a tremendously well-coached team. They are one of the programs in the country, certainly one of the best mid-major programs in the country. We figured out another way to pull out another win. To be 7-0 is nice and to come out here and pick up a pair of wins against two quality programs is a big confidence boost. It’s beneficial for us to know that we can compete and play with anybody when we play the way we’re supposed to play.”
Up Next
The Commodores conclude their three-game road trip this Wednesday, as Vanderbilt travels to Raleigh, North Carolina, to take on No. 10/16-ranked NC State as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. Tipoff against the Wolfpack is set for 6:15 p.m. CT and will air live on ACC Network.
Dore Notes
- Vanderbilt improves to 7-0 to begin the 2023-24 season. It is Vandy’s best start to a season since the 2011-12 campaign, when the Commodores won 10-straight games to open the year.
- The Commodores are now 1-1 all-time against Northern Iowa. Vanderbilt avenges a 65-62 loss to the Panthers last season in Cancun, Mexico.
- The Commodores have now won 10-consecutive games against non-SEC teams.
- Vanderbilt is now 30-14 against nonconference foes under head coach Shea Ralph.
- Graduate student Jordyn Cambridge records her seventh double-digit scoring game of the season with a 28-point effort. It is also Cambridge’s 39th career game with 10 or more points.
- Cambridge’s 28-point performance is a season-high scoring performance for the Nashville, Tennessee, native. It is the third game in her career that she has scored 20-plus points.
- Jordyn Cambridge’s seven steals is a season-high performance for the graduate student. She has had four or more steals in all but one game this season.
- Cambridge set career-highs in points scored (28) and field goals made (11) and tied her career single-game best with five made 3-point field goals.
- The 11 rebounds pulled down by graduate student Jordyn Oliver marks a new season-high for the guard.
- Jordyn Oliver’s 11-rebound performance vs. Northern Iowa ties her career-best in rebounds, which she set back on Dec. 19, 2020 vs. McNeese State.
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