LEXINGTON, Ky. – Junior Iyana Moore recorded a career-high 37-point performance, while graduate student Jordyn Cambridge posted a double-double as the No. 24-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team scored a 95-73 victory at Kentucky on Thursday to move to 3-0 in SEC action.
Moore’s scored the most points in a game by a Commodore this season, with the junior shooting a blistering hot 82.4 percent from the floor, as the Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native connected on 14-of-17 attempts. It is Moore’s second career game with 30 or more points.
The win pushes Vanderbilt’s overall record to 16-1 on the year and 3-0 in SEC play. The Commodores’ 16-1 record marks the second-best start to a season through the first 17 games in program history. Meanwhile, Vandy opens the SEC season with three-straight victories for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign. Vanderbilt also picked up back-to-back road SEC wins for the first time since Jan. 9, 2014, at Auburn (74-65) and Jan. 16, 2014, at Mississippi State (80-74).
Cambridge picked up her sixth double-double of the season with a 12-point, 12-assist performance against the Wildcats. It is Cambridge’s first double-double of the season with 10-plus points and 10-plus assists. The 12 assists for Cambridge set her career high, surpassing the 10 assists she dished out in her triple-double performance against Texas A&M during the first round of the 2022 SEC Tournament. The Nashville, Tennessee, native also added three steals to her stat line, marking the 15th game this season that Cambridge has picked up three or more steals.
The Commodores shot 58.5 percent from the field in the win over the Wildcats. It is the second time this season that Vanderbilt has shot over 50 percent from the floor. That included going 9-of-18 from 3-point range, with the Dores also making 10-of-11 attempts at the free-throw line.
Vandy outrebounded the Wildcats 39-32 and was able to score 25 points off 14 Kentucky turnovers.
After the Wildcats jumped out to a 5-0 lead to open the game, Vanderbilt rolled off 10-straight points to take a 10-5 advantage after an old-fashioned 3-point play from Moore. The Commodores took a double-digit lead after back-to-back buckets from Pierre put Vandy up 12 points at 19-7 at the 2:51 mark. Moore scored 11 points in the opening frame, as the Dores held a 23-13 lead going into the second stanza.
The Dores had their lead drop to just six points after UK opened the second with back-to-back buckets. Vanderbilt used a 10-2 run to jump out to a 33-19 lead after a layup from sophomore Justine Pissott. Vanderbilt maintained its double-digit advantage heading into the locker room, as the Commodores led 44-34 at the break.
Vanderbilt used a 10-0 run midway through the third quarter that turned a 13-point Commodore lead into a 23-point lead at 67-44 with 3:34 left in the frame. Moore was once again the catalyst during the third-quarter run, as she scored eight points during the spurt. Vanderbilt led by as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter before walking out of Rupp Arena with a 22-point victory.
Head Coach Shea Ralph on the Win
“I’m really proud of my team. When you look over the course of the season, this might be one of the more complete games we’ve played in terms of production and positive impact from several different players. I’m proud Khamil Pierre for stepping up in the first half. She did some great things. Bella LaChance did some big things in the minutes she was out there. Of course, Jordyn Cambridge and Iyana Moore. They were great tonight, not only with handling pressure and their physicality. Iyana had 37 points on 17 shots, and that is hard to do. She makes really hard things look easy. The thing I’m most proud of after our last game was our offensive efficiency. We had 29 assists on 38 buckets. Really proud to be 3-0 in the SEC. We will celebrate that on the way home and get back to work tomorrow.”
Up Next
Vanderbilt returns home Sunday, as the Commodores host Missouri for the annual Pride Game. Tipoff from Memorial Gymnasium is set for noon on SEC Network. Tickets can be purchased by clicking the link here.
Dore Notes
- Vanderbilt improved to 16-1 on the year, which is the second-best start in program history through 17 games. The 1992-93 Commodores opened the year 17-0 en route to an NCAA Final Four appearance
- It is the first time that Vanderbilt has opened the SEC season with three-straight wins since the 2008-09 campaign
- The last time Vanderbilt picked up back-to-back road SEC wins back on Jan. 9, 2014, at Auburn (74-65) and Jan. 16, 2014, at Mississippi State (80-74)
- It is Vanderbilt’s first three-game winning streak against SEC teams since the 2015-16 season
- The Commodores win back-to-back games vs. Kentucky for the first time since the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons
- Vanderbilt improved to 33-27 all-time against Kentucky and picked up its first win at Rupp Arena
- Graduate student Jordyn Cambridge recorded her sixth double-double of the season with a 12-point, 10-assist outing. It is her 11th career double-double
- It is Cambridge’s first double-double this season with 10-plus and 10-plus assists
- Cambridge’s 10 assists at Kentucky establish a new career high for most assists in a game
- Junior Iyana Moore recorded her third-straight 20-plus point game with 37 points
- Moore also extends her double-digit scoring streak to five games
- Moore is averaging 22.0 points per game over her five-game double-digit scoring streak
- Freshman Khamil Pierre set a new her career high in points with 16
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