NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt was held to its lowest shooting percentage of the season in a 62-51 loss to No. 5 Tennessee on Thursday at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Commodores (10-7, 1-2 SEC) trailed for all but 3:13 of the contest while going icy cold from the field. They shot 20 of 75 (26.7 percent) and made just three of the 22 3-pointers they attempted.
Iyana Moore led the Commodores with 16 points while Brinae Alexander added 15. Vandy forced Tennessee into 18 turnovers but could manage just 14 points off those miscues.
Vanderbilt next heads out on the road to take on No. 12 LSU (16-2, 4-1 SEC) at noon Sunday.
Vandy had an early 6-4 lead 2 1/2 minutes in Thursday before cooling off – but Tennessee couldn’t take advantage. Moore’s triple at the 4:07 mark tied the game at 9-all.
Tennessee ended the period on a 9-2 run to take a 18-11 lead and some momentum into the second period.
The Lady Volunteers extended that lead to 26-17 on a Jordan Horston 3-pointer from the top of the key with seven to go until halftime. Tess Darby’s triple from the left corner at the 3:34 mark made it a 33-18 game as part of what would eventually become a 14-3 run and 17-point lead for the visitors.
Vanderbilt went nearly 5 1/2 minutes without a made field goal during the pivotal stretch. It shot 28.6 percent in the first half (making just 1 of 12 3-pointers along the way) and went into the locker room trailing 41-23.
Vandy continued to struggle into the third quarter as it missed its first 11 shots of the period and didn’t dent the scoreboard until the 3:35 mark with a pair of free throws. Tennessee built its lead out to 25 at one point in the frame.
The Lady Volunteers cruised the rest of the game.
Tennessee had three in double figures led by Horston’s 16 – the junior also had 13 rebounds. Rae Burrell added 11 and Tamari Key finished with 10.
- Vanderbilt had won seven home games in a row before Thursday’s defeat.
- Vandy’s last win against a top-five ranked team was Feb. 19, 2009, a 73-70 triumph over No. 3 Auburn at Memorial Gymnasium.
- Cambridge now has 173 career steals and needs 38 more to move into the top 10 on Vanderbilt’s all-time steals list.
- Vanderbilt now trails the series against Tennessee 74-10 and has lost 13 of the last 14 in the series. The Commodores have lost seven in a row to the Lady Volunteers at Memorial Gymnasium having last won Jan. 12, 2014.
