Feb. 17, 2016
Teams: Vanderbilt (15-10, 4-8) vs. No. 22/25 Florida (19-6, 7-5)
Day, Date: Thursday, Feb. 18
Tip-off time: 6 p.m.
Site: O’Connell Center (Gainesville, Fla.)
Radio: 560 AM / 95.9 FM
TV: SEC Network-Plus
VU’s current streak: Lost five straight
VU’s last 10 games: 4-6
Florida’s current streak: Lost two straight
Florida’s last 10 games: 6-4
Game Notes: Vanderbilt Game Notes (UF) 
The Vanderbilt women are becoming very accustomed to facing opponents who have a number beside their name. The Commodores, who have lost five straight, will be matched up against a ranked opponent for the third consecutive game on Thursday night when they play No. 22/25-ranked Florida in Gainesville, Fla. Both teams are looking to catch a gust of late-season momentum as they continue posturing for a postseason berth. With four games remaining in the regular season, Florida — which has dropped its past two games — is tied for fifth in the SEC standings and Vanderbilt is in 11th. The Commodores have lost three of their past four road games, but they have reason to be optimistic about the trip to Gainesville. Vanderbilt has won five straight on the Gators’ home floor, including a 76-75 overtime victory last year, and they are 7-2 in Gainesville during head coach Melanie Balcomb’s tenure. Vanderbilt hasn’t lost a road game against the Gators since the 2005-06 season. Here’s a closer look at Thursday’s contest:
l Update on the Commodores: Having gone winless thus far in February, Vanderbilt has slipped to the bottom half of the SEC. But the Commodores are within striking distance of numerous teams, as they sit just one game behind 10th-place Arkansas and two games behind Tennessee and Kentucky, who are tied for eighth. … After facing only three ranked teams from Nov. 15 though Feb. 10, the Commodores are playing five straight games against teams who are currently ranked in the AP poll. The string started last week with games against No. 25 Tennessee and No. 18 Kentucky, and continues with games against No. 22 Florida, No 12 Texas A&M and No. 14 Mississippi State. … With four games remaining on the regular-season schedule, the Commodores have matched their win total from last season, when they finished 15-16 and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999. Vanderbilt is also just one SEC victory away from matching last season’s conference win total, when the Commodores finished 5-11… The Commodores’ upset of Kentucky on Jan. 28 was VU’s first road win over a ranked opponent since Dec. 16, 2012, when they won at Oklahoma.
l Stronger by the minute: Vanderbilt has proven itself to be a team that gets better offensively as the game goes along. The Commodores are averaging 13.9 points in the first quarter, 15.0 in the second quarter, 16.2 in the third quarter and 17.8 in the fourth quarter. In SEC play, Vanderbilt is averaging 11.4 points in the first quarter, but 17.8 in the final 10 minutes.
l What’s trending for VU: Despite the recent rough patch, the Commodores continue to rank among the nation’s Top-25 in three significant categories. They are No. 14 in the country in field-goal percentage (46.1 percent), 21st in defense (54.4 points per game) and 23rd in 3-point accuracy (36.1 percent). Vanderbilt is No. 2 in the SEC in both field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage, and is No. 3 in defense. … Vanderbilt has held its opponents to less than 50 percent shooting from the floor in 24 of its 25 games this season. (South Carolina is the lone exception. The Gamecocks shot exactly 50 percent in a win over VU on Jan. 7). … The Commodores are limiting opponents to 27.4 rebounds per game, which is easily the best mark in the conference.
l Star Power: Sophomore sharpshooter Christa Reed is averaging a team-high 10.9 points per game and is shooting 44.1 percent from 3-point range. Reed has been leading the SEC in 3-point accuracy for much of the season but doesn’t currently qualify to be listed among the conference leaders. … Point guard Minta Spears is sixth in the SEC in assists (4.3 apg) and seventh in the SEC in minutes played (32.7 mpg). … Junior Marque’s Webb is VU’s top rebounder at 5.4 per game. She is averaging 6.5 rebounds in SEC games. … Rebekah Dahlman is leading the SEC in free-throw percentage in conference games, shooting 91 percent (31-of-34). … Spears leads the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio in conference games at 1.9.
l Scouting the Gators: Florida, which suffered an 80-58 road loss to Auburn on Sunday, is putting together an impressive statistical season. The Gators are ranked 12th in the nation, and first in the SEC, in scoring at 79.6 points per game. They are also fourth in the country in steals (12.6 per game), 12th in offensive rebounds (17.0 per game), and third in turnovers forced (23.8). … Ronni Williams is one of the SEC’s top players, and she is leading the Gators in scoring (11.0) and rebounding (7.6). … Eleanna Christinaki is averaging 10.2. … Florida is 11-2 at home this season. … In a statistical oddity, Florida has knocked off three different opponents who were ranked No. 12 in the AP poll — Tennessee (on Jan. 7, Kentucky (on Jan. 31) and Texas A&M (on Feb.4). …The Gators have defeated two Top-10 opponents, beating Florida State when the Seminoles were ranked No. 6 and downing Mississippi State when the Bulldogs were No. 8.
l Series History: Thursday’s game marks the 55th meeting between Vanderbilt and Florida, with the Commodores owning a 33-21 lead in the series. … The Commodores own a 13-10 all-time record in Gainesville, and have won five straight at the O’Connell Center, including last season’s 76-75 overtime victory. Florida hasn’t beaten Vanderbilt in Gainesville since the 2005-06 season. … Vanderbilt head coach Melanie Balcomb is 14-6 against the Gators, including 7-2 in Gainesville, during her tenure at VU. … The Commodores went 11-2 against Florida from the 2004-2005 through 2012-13 seasons. … The series dates back to the 1978-79 season, which was the second year of the Vanderbilt WBB program.
l Most recent Vanderbilt-Florida game: Using hot shooting early and gritty defense late, the Commodores earned a 76-75 overtime victory against Florida on Feb. 19, 2015. Vanderbilt’s Marqu’es Webb deflected two passes on Florida’s final possession in overtime, and the Gators were forced to take a tough shot at the buzzer, which was off the mark. Webb scored the decisive basket with just over a minute to play in overtime after the teams had traded the lead during the extra session. Florida had the ball at the end of regulation, but a potential game-winning shot rolled off the rim at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime, tied at 69-69. Rebekah Dahlman finished with 18 points for the Commodores. Morgan Batey had 17 points and a team-high five rebounds and freshman Rachel Bell added 15 points. Jasmine Jenkins finished with seven points and set new career highs with seven assists, four steals and 42 minutes of playing time. Vanderbilt was 7-of-10 from 3-point range in the first half while building a 44-36 halftime lead. Florida’s Ronni Williams had a team-high 17 points, and January Miller added 15. Kayla Lewis and Carlie Needles added 10 each.
l VU’s most recent game: Hosting a ranked opponent for the second time in four days, the Commodores committed 24 turnovers and fell to No. 18/18 Kentucky 71-55 on Sunday during the annual Pink Out game at Memorial Gym. It was the fifth straight loss for Vanderbilt (15-10, 4-8), including three straight at home. Alexis Jennings finished with game-highs of 18 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats (17-6, 6-6), who atoned for a loss to Vanderbilt on Jan. 28 in Lexington. Janee Thompson added 15 points for Kentucky, and Evelyn Akhator had 10 points and six rebounds. Christa Reed finished with 17 for the Commodores, who reeled off four wins during a five-game stretch in late January but are still searching for their first win in February. The Wildcats owned a 46-32 lead at the end of the third quarter after Jennings scored in the paint just before the buzzer. Vanderbilt cut the deficit to eight points on two occasions in the fourth quarter, but Kentucky never allowed the Commodores to mount any prolonged scoring runs.
