TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – In a thrilling contest, much akin to the series opener, Vanderbilt battled to the wire against Alabama falling 77-71 in the finale of the 2021-22 regular season.
The Commodores were led by freshman Sacha Washington who tallied the sixth double-double of her career while establishing a career high in points with 21 and 13 rebounds.
Vandy won the jump ball off Washington’s tip back into Jordyn Cambridge‘s hands. She was rewarded moments later with a paint touch from Cambridge, opening up the scoring on the afternoon. Alabama netted back-to-back 3-pointers and a layup from JaMya Mingo-Young to take the premature lead. Vanderbilt battled back from an 11-point deficit and entered the second stanza trailing by only seven.
Washington, Kaylon Smith, and Brinae Alexander rallied to score for the Commodores as Smith’s second chance basket tied the game at 23 all, just under the seven minute mark. Jada Rice responded quickly for Alabama with a second chance layup of her own to retake the lead for the Crimson Tide. The visitors chipped away at the four point lead over the course of several minutes before Demi Washington‘s fast break layup brought Vandy within one. S. Washington’s layup and free throws sealed the 33-30 lead for the Commodores at the break.
Vanderbilt held Alabama to 10 points in the second period while doubling that point total for themselves.
In final two periods, the Crimson Tide amassed 20-points whereas the Commodores tallied 19 points in each stanza.
Smith and S. Washington combined for 10 points in the third period. The stanza went back-and-forth as Alabama worked their way back into contention. But, Vanderbilt consistently responded maintaining, at its largest, a lead of nine points. However, a successful trip to the free throw line from Alabama’s Mingo-Young tied the game at 48. A split trip at the charity stripe for the Crimson Tide, with just one second remaining in the third, gave the home team a two point edge at 54-52.
S. Washington made her way to the free throw line in the opening seconds of the fourth period to tie the game yet again, this time at 54 all. Back-to-back shots from De’Mauri Flournoy positioned the Commodores with a four-point lead. However, the cadence of the game continued as the opposition mounted a rally of their own to tie the game. The final tie, in favor of Vanderbilt, came on a contested layup from Iyana Moore at 64 points with approximately four minutes remaining. Alabama was able to protect its lead and nurture it to six points as Vanderbilt began to have to foul to save time on the game clock.
The Commodores ended the game with three in double figures – Smith with 12 points and Cambridge adding 10 of her own.
The game was tied six times and had seven lead changes. Vanderbilt doubled the paint points of Alabama, ending the game with 36 points from the low block. The Commodores did the same with second chance points notching 12 in the game. The Vanderbilt bench outproduced that of Alabama’s 13-9. And, the Commodores were able to garner 22 points off Crimson Tide miscues.
Alabama was paced by the explosive effort of Brittany Davis and her 32 points, including eight 3-pointers.
Vanderbilt will await its seeding for the upcoming 2022 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament, slated to begin Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
