NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt is hoping to prolong its recent success against Texas A&M when the Commodores begin play in the SEC Tournament this week.
No. 12-seeded Vanderbilt (12-18, 3-13 SEC) face the No. 13 Aggies (7-19, 2-14 SEC) in the first round on Wednesday at 10 a.m. CT at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. All tournament games will be aired live on the SEC Network.
Last season, Vanderbilt beat Texas A&M 85-69 in the first round of the SEC Tournament before falling to Florida 53-52 in the second round.
When the teams met this season in Nashville in late January, Vanderbilt beat Texas A&M 88-79 behind a record performance from Ciaja Harbison. The graduate guard scored a program record-tying and career-high 41 points, going 14 of 19 from the field and 11 of 13 from the free throw line. Harbison tied the single-game program record set by Chantelle Anderson in 2001.
Harbison is the SEC’s second-leading scorer at 19.8 points per game and is tied for first in assists (4.5) and steals per game (2.4). Over the last nine games, Harbison is averaging 22.6 points.
Vanderbilt graduate guard Marnelle Garraud leads the SEC in 3-pointers made (82) and is averaging 14.0 points per game.
As key transfer additions to an injury-depleted squad, Harbison (36.62) and Garraud (35.85) lead the SEC in minutes played and rank No. 25 and 44 in the country overall, respectively.
Sacha Washington has been playing her best basketball down the stretch for Vandy. The sophomore forward has three double-doubles in the last four games to boost her scoring average to 10.9 points and rebounding average to 7.4. Washington ranks sixth in the SEC in total blocks with 44.
Vanderbilt leads the SEC in free throw percentage at 73.8 with 412 makes in 558 attempts.
SEC Tournament History
Vanderbilt is 49-36 all-time in the SEC Tournament. The Commodores have won six titles, with the last coming in 2009.
Texas A&M Series History
Texas A&M leads the all-time series 9-6. Vanderbilt is 1-0 against the Aggies in the SEC Tournament.
Looking ahead: The winner of the Vanderbilt-Texas A&M game faces No. 5 Mississippi State on Thursday. The game is scheduled to tip off 25 minutes following the conclusion of the day’s opening contest, which begins at 11 a.m. CT.
