NASHVILLE – No. 20 Vanderbilt looks to bounce back in Southeastern Conference play when the Commodores host Arkansas Thursday night at 7 p.m. It will be the Commodores’ second-to-last home game of the season in Memorial gymnasium.

The final two home games for the Commodores feature Give Back Thursdays. Thursday’s home game with Arkansas will benefit the Second Harvest Food Drive. Any fan who brings two cans of food to the game will receive one free admission ticket.

Vanderbilt had its four-game win streak snapped on the road at No. 5 Tennessee. The Commodores finished last week 1-1 after defeating Auburn, 66-64, at home, and dropping a hard-fought contest at Tennessee, 72-63. Ashley Earley scored a team-high 17 points to lead four Vandy players in double figures in the win over Auburn. Abi Ramsey and Dee Davis each added 12 points and Cherish Stringfield chipped in 10 points. Against Tennessee, Earley scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season. Ramsey added the game with 17 points. Earley continued to be a road warrior for the Commodores. She is averaging 21.8 points and 11.6 rebounds in road games for Vandy. She has seven 20-point games away from Memorial Gym this season. On the season, Earley continues to lead the team averaging 18.8 points and 9.2 rebounds. Carla Thomas averages 15.8 points. Dee Davis runs the offense averaging 13.6 points per outing. She already has 151 assists this season. Ramsey (11.7 points) is the other Commodore averaging in double figures. Vanderbilt continues to shoot above 50 percent hitting on 50.1 percent of its shots.

SCOUTING the ARKANSAS LADY RAZORBACKS
Arkansas (15-8, 3-7 SEC) has won two consecutive games after knocking off Alabama in SEC play last week, 83-68, and Georgia Tech, 71-59, in a SEC-ACC doubleheader. Forward Sarah Pfeifer scored a team-high 21 points to lead the Lady Backs by Alabama. Pfeifer followed that performance with a career-high 24 points in leading Arkansas past Georgia Tech. The Lady Backs average only 66.1 points per game, but Arkansas has one of the toughest defenses in the conference. Arkansas leads the SEC in steals averaging 13.7 and force opponents into 24.3 turnovers on average. Pfiefer is the team’s leading scorer as she averages 10.5 points. Kristin Peoples chips in 9.5 points.

THE ARKANSAS SERIES
This will be the 15th meeting between Vanderbilt and Arkansas on the basketball court. Vandy leads the all-time series, 10-4. The Commodores are 2-0 under Melanie Balcomb against Arkansas. The Commodores have won the last three meetings. Arkansas last won during the 2001-02  when the Lady Backs won 67-57 in Fayetteville.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST ARKANSAS
Jenni Benningfield scored 10 of her 16 points in the second half and was perfect from the free-throw line to help No. 24 Vanderbilt beat Arkansas 74-69 in Fayetteville last season. The teams were tied 32-32 at halftime, but Arkansas scored the first 10 points after the break. Vanderbilt then went on a 16-8 run to force a 50-50 tie. The game was tied three more times, the last at 69-69 with 1:47 left to play. Then Arkansas turned the ball over, and Hillary Hager hit a 23-foot 3-pointer with 24 seconds left. Hagar scored nine of her 14 points in the second half. Thomas scored 12 points and Ashley Earley had 11; both grabbed seven rebounds. Arkansas was led by Ruby Vaden with 29 points and seven rebounds. Kristin Peoples scored 18 and Shameeka Christon had 13.

UP NEXT FOR THE COMMODORES
Vandy hits the road for Gainesville, Fla., Sunday to take on former VU player Carolyn Peck and her Florida Gators.