FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team collected a clutch 62-53 road win at Arkansas on Sunday to give the Commodores their 20th victory of the 2023-24 season.
The Commodores had to overcome a slow start that saw them shoot 18.8 percent through the first two quarters of play. The Dores shot a blistering 51.9 percent in the second half to seal the nine-point victory. Vanderbilt converted at the free throw line, as the Dores shot 86 percent from the free throw line in the win, hitting 18-of-21 from the charity stripe.
Graduate student Jordyn Oliver led a trio of double-digit scorers for the Commodores, as she registered 12 points. Juniors Sacha Washington and Iyana Moore followed. Washington scored 11 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Moore tallied 10 points. Vanderbilt had six players score seven or more points against Arkansas.
The victory over Arkansas gave the Commodores their 20th win of the season, as Vanderbilt is now 20-8 overall this season. It is the first time since the 2012-13 season that Vandy has won 20 games in a season. Meanwhile, the Dores get back to .500 in SEC play, as Vanderbilt now holds a 7-7 mark in league games.
Vandy was plus-15 on the glass against the Razorbacks, as the Dores held a 46-31 edge over Arkansas in rebounds. Washington and graduate student Jordyn Cambridge pulled down eight rebounds a piece.
Cambridge dished out a game-high four assists, as she moved into the top 10 of Vanderbilt’s career assists lists. Cambridge now sits in 10th place on the list, as she now has 413 career assists.
How It Happened
Vanderbilt used a 6-0 run in the early stages of the opening quarter to take a 6-3 lead. Arkansas took a brief 8-6 advantage at the 3:14 mark, but the Commodores responded with another 6-0 spurt to take a 12-8 lead. The Razorbacks got a jump shot to end the frame, as Vandy held onto a 12-10 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Freshman Aiyana Mitchell nailed a jumper to get the second stanza started, but Arkansas would go on to score seven-straight points after that to take a 17-14 lead that forced Vanderbilt to call a timeout at the 5:25 mark. Sophomore Ryanne Allen drilled a 3-pointer from the wing to knot the game back up 17-all. Sophomore Jada Brown, who grew up in nearby Bentonville, Arkansas, hit a trifecta from the corner that gave the Dores a 20-17 lead. Vanderbilt extended its advantage out to 24-20 thanks to a quartet of free throws. Arkansas hit a 55-foot shot right before the halftime buzzer sounded to cut Vandy’s lead to a point at 24-23 at the half.
Arkansas hit a 3-pointer to open the third quarter, but Vanderbilt responded with a 14-2 run to take a double-digit lead at 40-30 after a 3-pointer from sophomore Justine Pissott with 3:12 left to play in the frame. Vandy was able to maintain a double-digit lead in the closing stages of the third, but Arkansas used a quick 4-0 spurt to pull within six points of the Commodores with 15 seconds left in the frame. Washington pushed Vanderbilt’s lead back out to nine, as she converted an old-fashioned 3-point play that gave the Dores a 48-39 lead going into the fourth.
The Razorbacks scored the first seven points of the final stanza to cut Vanderbilt’s lead to a basket at 48-46 with 7:50 left to play in the game. Oliver scored three straight baskets from that point to give the Dores a 54-48 lead with 5:44 left in the game. The Dores were able to keep the Razorbacks at bay down the stretch, as Vanderbilt collected the nine-point win.
Head Coach Shea Ralph on the Win
“Our team figures out how to win. I think we’ve gotten to the point in the program’s revitalization where we can compete with just about anyone. Now it’s about learning how to win when things get hard. It’s been hard for us on the road this season, and we didn’t get off to a good start today. We shot 18 percent in the first half, but we continued to defend, continued to rebound, hit our free throws, and made some really gutsy plays down the stretch. We figure out how to win a really tough game.”
Up Next
Vanderbilt closes out the road portion of the 2023-24 schedule Thursday, as the Commodores head west to take on Missouri. Tipoff from Mizzou Arena is set for 7 p.m. and will stream live on SEC Network+.
Dore Notes
- The Dores collected their first 20-win season since the 2012-13 campaign
- Graduate student Jordyn Cambridge moved into 10th place on Vanderbilt’s all-time assists list during Sunday’s game. Her 413 career assists are the 10th most in program history
- Cambridge is closing in on Vanderbilt’s career steals record, as the guard is now seven steals away from breaking Deborah Denton’s (1986-89) program record of 338 career steals
- Graduate student Jordyn Oliver scored a team-high 12 points to record her first double-digit scoring game in SEC play
- It is Oliver’s first double-digit performance since her 11-point outing against Dayton on Dec. 20, 2023
- Junior Sacha Washington’s 11 points mark the fifth time over the last eight games that she has scored double-digit points
- It is the 16th game this season that Washington has scored double-digit points
- Sophomore Justine Pissott and junior Iyana Moore have now each hit a 3-pointer in four-straight games
- Vanderbilt moves to 28-12 all-time against Arkansas, while the Commodores are now 9-9 all-time against the Razorbacks in Fayetteville
- Vandy picks up its first win in Fayetteville for the first time since Feb. 20, 2014, when the Dores collected a 56-50 win
- Vanderbilt collects its fifth SEC road win of the season, it is the first time since the 2010-11 campaign that the Commodores have won at least five SEC road games
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