ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands – Vanderbilt’s intense defensive mindset led to its first Power 5 victory of the young season. The Commodores (4-3) defeated the Scarlet Knights (4-3), 51-40 on Friday afternoon.
“For our team, pretty much all year it has been our defense,” said head coach Shea Ralph. “We know that no matter what happens on the offensive end of the floor, we can always bring energy, effort and communication on the defensive end. So everything starts and ends there for us. I think so far on this trip, we’ve done a really good job. The end part of that, which we’re continuing to focus on, is making sure we get the rebounds to go the other way. Today we didn’t do such a great job of that, especially in the second half, but we’ll continue to get better. And overall, the defensive effort has been awesome the last two days.”
Brinae Alexander scored the first points for Vandy and concluded the opening period with a three-pointer to make the lead 14-5. The game was only tied once and from then on Vanderbilt never looked back.
Vandy held Rutgers to only eight first half points, the least allowed so far this season and tied for the second lowest in program history. The Commodores notched 26 points heading into halftime.
Demi Washington’s jumper commenced the third with a jumper under the 10-minute mark and wrapped up the period with another, making the lead 42-22. Vandy notched a total of 16 points, the most of the game, and kept Rutgers at 14 points.
The final stanza was a tough one for the Commodores, but the designated home team outlasted the would be rally from the Scarlet Knights. In the closing period, Vanderbilt received offensive contributions from four different Commodores en route to victory.
Vandy’s biggest lead came in the third with 22 points around the seven-minute mark with the largest scoring run of seven points in the second.
Second chance and paint points were both tied at nine and 18 respectively. However, the Vanderbilt bench outlasted that of Rutgers 20-16. The Commodores concluded the contest shooting nearly 40 percent from the floor, 31.3 percent from deep and 53 percent from the free throw line. All the while, holding Rutgers to 31.8 percent from the floor and 15.4 percent from three.
The last time Vanderbilt defeated a non-SEC Power 5 opponent was Dec. 21, 2019 vs. Washington in overtime. The Commodores have also claimed a 4-1 lead in the all-time series redeeming their one and only loss to Rutgers from the 2019-20 season during the Junkanoo Jam in Bimini, Bahamas.
Alexander, who suffered an injury during the last match up against Rutgers, led the way for Vandy with 11 points, a pair of assists and one rebound. She was joined in double digit scoring by Jordyn Cambridge with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists, six steals and a block.
“…mentally, I was really proud of myself for staying locked in and getting the win,” said Alexander. “Not only for myself but for my but for my teammates too, because we all deserve it.”
Rutgers’ Jailyn Mason notched nine points, three rebounds and one steal.
