Nov. 12, 2016
Teams: Vanderbilt (1-0) vs. No. 23 Indiana (1-0)
Day, Date: Sunday, Nov. 13
Tip-off time: 1 p.m. (CT)
Site: Assembly Hall (Bloomington, Ind.)
Radio: WNSR 560 AM / 95.9 FM
TV: BTN-Plus (Link: HERE; Fee required)
Just two days after opening the season — and the Stephanie White era — with a convincing win over Kennesaw State, the Vanderbilt women will now face their first road game of the season. And it’s likely going to be a stiff test. Traveling to Bloomington, Ind., the Commodores (1-0) face the No. 23-ranked Hoosiers (1-0) on Sunday. Here’s a closer look at the game:
l Homecoming for White: Today’s game is a homecoming, of sorts, for Vanderbilt head coach Stephanie White, as she returns to the state where some many of her basketball memories were created. She spent the past two seasons as head coach of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, leading the team to the playoffs each year. White was also a former national player of the year during her career at Purdue and was named Miss Indiana basketball during her prep career. White will have a large collection of friends, family and fans at today’s game, including a big number of Fever supporters who received tickets to today’s game as part of a package with their Fever tickets.
l Update on the ‘Dores: Vanderbilt opened the season on Friday night, rolling past Kennesaw State, 86-54, at Memorial Gym in Stephanie White’s debut. Rebekah Dahlman scored a game-high 19 points for the Commodores, who saw 10 players reach the scoring column. Vanderbilt went 8-of-11 from 3-point range in the second half — 72.7 percent — and finished 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) for the game. Overall, 10 players reached the scoring column for Vanderbilt, and the Commodores compiled 24 assists on 31 field goals. Vanderbilt’s touted five-member freshmen class combined for 38 points in their Commodore debuts: Erin Whalen had 11 points, Kaleigh Clemons-Green had nine, LeaLea Carter had seven, Cierra Walker had six and Kayla Overbeck had five.
l Update on the Hoosiers: Like the Commodores, Indiana also kicked off the regular season with a lopsided win as the Hoosiers cruised to a 71-37 victory over Presbyterian on Friday night. Junior Amanda Cahill produced a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. … Indiana enters today’s game with a 15-game home winning streak. The Hoosiers went 14-0 at home last season. … The Hoosiers return all five starters and 10 letterwinners from the 2015-16 campaign, which was one of its most successful in program history. The list of returnees includes juniors Tyra Buss and Amanda Cahill, who were both All-Big Ten selections last year. Overall, Indiana returns 93 percent of its scoring and 91 percent of its rebounding from last season.
l Series History: Today’s game marks just the third all-time meeting between the Commodores and Hoosiers, and the first since Dec. 1, 1999. The teams have split the previous two games, with each team winning on its home floor: Indiana posted an 84-61 victory in Bloomington on Dec. 19, 1998, and Vanderbilt rolled to a 74-54 win over Indiana the following season at Memorial Gym. … Indiana visited Memorial Gym last season and participated in the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament, but the Commodores did not face the Hoosiers.
l Signing Day Success: Comprising the inaugural signing class of Vanderbilt first-year head coach Stephanie White, a pair of highly-rated recruits — Autumn Newby and Chelsie Hall — signed National Letters of Intent with the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period. Newby is a 6-2 forward from Archer High in Lawrenceville, Ga., who averaged 12.7 points and 12.6 rebounds per game last season. Hall is a 5-7 point guard from Seffner Christian Academy in Tampa, Fla., who averaged 21.2 points per game last year. Together, the two players form a signing class that was ranked No. 23 in the nation by BlueStar Report on Wednesday. (Newby was ranked by BlueStar as the No. 20 overall prospect and Chelsie was ranked No. 28).
l Looking ahead: After today’s game, the Commodores return to Nashville for three straight homes games, hosting Drexel on Nov. 16, Duke on Nov. 20 and Robert Morris on Nov. 22.
