COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team picked up a hard-fought 49-45 win at Texas A&M on Thursday to collect the program’s first victory in College Station since the 1997-98 season.
The Commodores came through clutch down the stretch, as Vanderbilt ended the game on a 10-0 run to capture the program’s first road win over the Aggies since Nov. 18, 1997.
Junior Iyana Moore sank a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:04 left on the clock to give the Dores a 47-45 advantage . The Commodores got a defensive stop after Moore’s trifecta to get the ball back with 38 seconds left to play. Junior Sacha Washington grabbed a clutch offensive rebound with eight seconds remaining that allowed sophomore Jada Brown to go to the free line for a pair of charity tosses with four seconds on the clock. Brown sank both shots to give the Dores a four-point victory.
The win pushes Vanderbilt’s overall record to 19-7, while the Commodores are now an even 6-6 in SEC play with four games remaining in the regular season.
Vanderbilt led for 28:49 of game time in Thursday’s victory. The Commodores shot 32.1 percent from the floor in the game, while Texas A&M shot 36 percent from the field. The Dores sank a total of seven 3-pointers, as Moore and sophomore Justine Pissott each hit a pair of trifectas. The Aggies outrebounded the Commodores, 39-31, but Vandy held a 12-4 edge in second chance opportunities.
How It Happened
Vanderbilt used an early 6-0 run to jump out to a 9-2 lead in the early stages of the first quarter. Both squads endured an elongated scoring drought after a Texas A&M bucket, as neither team scored for over three minutes of game time. The Aggies ended the drought with a bucket at the 1:33 mark and added a free throw to cut the Vanderbilt lead to two at 9-7. The teams traded buckets in the closing seconds of the opening stanza, as the Commodores held an 11-9 advantage after 10 minutes of play.
The Commodores opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run that gave Vanderbilt a 19-9 lead after a 3-pointer from freshman Aga Makurat. Texas A&M responded with a 9-0 run of its own after Makurat’s trifecta, as the Commodores clung to a 21-20 lead with 2:31 before halftime. Pissott ended Vandy’s scoring drought, as she went on a personal 5-0 run to give the Commodores a 26-19 lead with 1:41 left to play in the frame. The Aggies added a free throw to end of the half, as the Dores took a 26-20 lead into the locker room.
The Aggies chipped away and took their first lead of the game at the 5:53 clip of the third quarter, as the Aggies used a 7-0 run to take a 31-30 advantage. Vanderbilt reclaimed the lead coming out of the third quarter media break, as a Moore 3-pointer put the Dores up 33-31. Makurat went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe to knot the game up at 34-all with 94 seconds remaining in the frame. A layup from graduate student Jordyn Cambridge gave Vanderbilt a 36-24 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Moore hit a free throw to push Vandy’s lead to 37-34 early in the fourth quarter. Texas A&M rolled off five-straight points after the Moore charity toss to reclaim a 39-37 advantage. Graduate student Jordyn Oliver hit a reverse layup on the ensuing possession to tie the game back up at 39-39 with 7:22 left to play. Texas A&M went on a 6-0 run after Oliver’s layup, but a Cambridge trifecta and a Pierre layup pulled the Commodores to within a point of the Aggies at 45-44 with 1:41 left in the game. Moore sank a 3-pointer from the corner to put the Dores up 47-45 with 1:04 remaining. The Dores got a defensive stop with 38.8 ticks left on the clock, then sophomore Jada Brown sealed the deal with a pair of free throws to give the Commodores their first win in College Station in 9,585 days.
Head Coach Shea Ralph on the Win
“I’m really proud of my team tonight. I’m proud of their toughness and their grit. We had to make some plays down the stretch. I thought a couple of players came up huge, specifically Jada Brown for hitting those free throws and Sacha Washington for grabbing those rebounds. Jordyn Cambridge hit a huge 3-pointer after it feels like she hasn’t made one in over a month. I told them that their hard work will pay off. It was really a group effort and to come up with a huge win on the road after a tough few weeks is a great momentium builder for us moving forward.”
Up Next
The Commodores return to Memorial Gymnasium Sunday, as Vanderbilt takes on in-state rival Tennessee. A pair of promotions will be taking place at Memorial Gym on Sunday. It will be Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball Alumni Day, along with this year’s Blackout game. All fans are encouraged to wear black to the game. Tipoff against the Lady Volunteers is set for 1 p.m. on SEC Network.
Dore Notes
- Vanderbilt moves to 7-10 all-time against Texas A&M
- The Commodores pick up their first win in College Station since Nov. 18, 1997, when Vanderbilt collected a 78-59 win
- Khamil Pierre extended her double-digit scoring streak to three games, scoring a team-high 11 points
- It is the 10th time this season that Pierre has registered double-digit points
- Jordyn Cambridge collected three assists to give her 403 in her career, she needs seven more assists to tie Cathy Bender (1979=82; 410) for 10th on Vanderbilt’s all-time assist list
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