Jan. 21, 2018
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team (5-16, 1-6 SEC) took a 72-71 lead with 30 seconds left on a bucket from Chelsie Hall but Alabama (14-6, 4-3 SEC) sealed a 77-75 win by going 6-of-7 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds.
The Skinny
Date: Jan. 21, 2018
Time: 2:00 PM CT
Place: Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Coleman Coliseum)
At The Top of the Charts
Points: Chelsie Hall – 21 points
Rebounds: Autumn Newby – 6 rebounds
Assists: Chelsie Hall – 9 assists
Steals: Two with two
How It Happened
First Quarter: Vanderbilt 16, Alabama 10
Vanderbilt jumped out to a 7-2 lead early and got an early triple from Christa Reed while holding the Crimson Tide to just 13 percent shooting through the first three minutes. Ashley Williams finally got Alabama on the board at the 6:04 mark but a steal on the inbounds play from Hall put the Dores up 11-4. The teams struggled in the latter half of the quarter but on the strength of foul shots the Commodores took a 16-10 lead at the quarter break.
Second Quarter: Vanderbilt 39, Alabama 34
Bree Horrocks provided a spark off the bench for the Commodores in the second quarter. The Georgia native had a bucket and grabbed two rebounds while playing the entire the second quarter. With the Commodores leading 23-13, their largest lead of the game to that point, Alabama used a 6-2 run to get the score down to six points. Vanderbilt wouldn’t flounder as they responded with a 10-2 run, punctuated by a triple from Erin Whalen to take a 13-point lead but an Alabama steal forced Stephanie White to call a timeout to regroup. Alabama seemed to take advantage of the timeout using a 5-0 spurt to cut the lead to four points with less than a minute remaining but Vanderbilt maintained a 39-34 lead at the halftime break.
Third Quarter: Alabama 58, Vanderbilt 53
The Commodores had an unusually slow start to the quarter and Alabama used an 6-2 run to cut the Vanderbilt lead to 40-41 at the 7:52 mark forcing White to burn a timeout. The Crimson Tide took their first lead of the game at the 5:51 mark on a free throw but a bucket from Autumn Newby returned the lead to the Commodores. The teams traded buckets for the majority of the remainder of the third quarter, which featured three ties and five lead changes. With the game tied at 51 with 2:30 left, Alabama closed the quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 58-53 lead into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter: Alabama 77, Vanderbilt 75
The fourth quarter was about as tight as you can get with the lead swapping between the teams no less than eight times. With the Commodores leading 65-64 with 4:38 left the teams went back-and-forth right up until the final two minutes of play. Erin Whalen nailed a huge three-pointer to give the Commodores a 70-67 lead with 2:13 left and after a pair of Alabama free throws the lead went back to the home team. Chelsie Hall gave the Dores a lead with a big bucket in the paint but Alabama sealed the win from the free throw line.
Inside the Lane
-Vanderbilt debuted its sixth new lineup this year against the Crimson Tide. Kayla Overbeck moved into the starting lineup in place of Rachel Bell who was out with injury. Overbeck made her fifth start this season while Bell was unavailable for the first time this season.
-A little bit of a Purdue connection in todays’ game as Kristy Curry coached at Purdue and coached Vanderbilt assistant coach Kelly Komara.
-Christa Reed posted her third straight game in double figures with 12 points. She’s reached double figures in four of the last five games.
-Chelsie Hall was back in double figures with 21 points after being held scoreless for the first time in her collegiate career in Vanderbilt’s last outing against South Carolina.
-Chelsie Hall reached 20 points for the third time in her career.
-Chelsie Hall had a career-best nine assists.
-Erin Whalen posted 20+ points for the second consecutive game with 20 points.
Up Next
The Commodores will take some time off and are back in action on Sunday when they welcome No. 16/17 Texas A&M The game will tipoff at 2 PM on the SEC Network with LaChina Robinson and Tiffany Greene on the call.
Next Five Games
Jan. 28 – vs. Texas A&M, 2 pm
Feb. 1 – at Ole Miss, 6 pm
Feb. 4 – vs. Tennessee, 1 pm
Feb. 8 – at Georgia, 6 pm
Feb. 12 – at Auburn, 7 pm
All game times CENTRAL
Keep Up with the Commodores
For more information on the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team check them out on the website at www.vucommodores.com , Twitter at @VandyWBB., Instagram at @VandyWBB and on Facebook at Vandy Hoops.
