Jan. 6, 2015
UPDATE ON THE DORES
RECORD: 8-5, 0-2
CURRENT STREAK: Lost two
UPCOMING GAMES:
Jan. 8: at LSU, 8 p.m.
Jan. 11: host Miss. State, 2 p.m.
Jan. 15: host Alabama-Huntsville, 7 p.m.
The Commodores opened SEC play with arguably the toughest two-game stretch of any team in the conference, facing a pair of Top 10-ranked foes. Vanderbilt dropped both games, falling to No. 9/8 Texas A&M last Thursday, and then dropping a 57-49 decision to No. 7/9 Tennessee at Memorial Gym on Sunday. In the days ahead, the Commodores will be looking to take advantage of a stretch that features several important home games. After visiting LSU on Thursday, the Commodores will have three home games in the span of 11 days — hosting Mississippi State on Jan. 11, Alabama-Huntsville on Jan. 15 and Arkansas on Jan. 22. (Vanderbilt’s only road game in that stretch is a trip to Georgia on Jan. 18). Vanderbilt fans can look forward to several special promotions during the upcoming games. Here’s a look at what’s ahead, along with a brief recap of Vanderbilt’s game against Tennessee.
MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
After visiting LSU on Thursday, the Commodores return home to host Mississippi State on Sunday, Jan. 11, for the annual “Jam the Gym” promotion at Memorial Gym at 2 p.m.. All tickets for the game are just $1. Tickets can purchased in advance or at the ticket windows (with no change to the $1 price). Last season, the Commodores produced a memorable performance during the Jam the Gym promotion as they downed nationally-ranked LSU, 79-70, in front of a crowd of 6,020. It was one of the largest and loudest crowds of the season.
START PICKING OUT YOUR PINK
Although the game is still several weeks away, it’s not too early to circle Sunday, Feb. 2, on your calendars. The Commodores will be hosting Kentucky as the Vanderbilt WBB program hosts its annual Pink-Out game to help fight the battle against breast cancer. The Vanderbilt players will wear pink jerseys for the game. More details will come later, but for now, plan to come wearing pink as the Commodores battle the Wildcats. At last season’s Pink-Out game, the Commodores used a 17-point effort from Heather Bowe to upset Texas A&M, giving the Aggies their first SEC road loss of the season.
GIVE AWAYS
When the starting lineups are being introduced at home games this season, the members of Vanderbilt’s starting five will each throw a T-shirt into the crowd. So be sure to make some noise when your favorite player is announced — you might just get a T-shirt from her! Vanderbilt fans can also look forward to several in-game promotions, including the T-shirt toss (thrown by cheerleaders during timeouts) and gold-shaker giveaways, along with free posters and wallet-sized schedules that are available at the marketing tables. After the game, the Vanderbilt players will throw miniature basketballs into the stands.
SAY CHEESE
Vanderbilt fans can pose with — or post up against — large-sized cutouts of the Vanderbilt players at all home games this season. The 6-foot cutouts are located in the Southeast and North lobbies.
TOUGH SLEDDING
The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team hit a season-high seven 3-pointers on Monday night, but the Commodores had a hard time scoring from anywhere else on the floor during their SEC game against No. 7/9 Tennessee. Limited to its lowest offensive output of the season, the Commodores were saddled with a 57-49 loss to their in-state rivals. For Vanderbilt (8-6, 0-2), freshman Christa Reed scored a team-high 13 points and fellow freshman Khaléann Caron-Goudreau had 10. Vanderbilt — which came into the night averaging just 3.8 three-pointers per game — finished 7-of-17 from 3-point range. But the Commodores were just 9-of-31 (29 percent) from inside the arc, and their 10-of-16 performance from the foul line (62 percent) didn’t help either. The Commodores were hoping to continue their recent home-floor success against Lady Vols after beating them at Memorial Gym in two of the past three seasons and three of the past six. But this time, the Tennessee defense made sure there would be no upset. The Lady Vols limited Vanderbilt to just 17 points in the first half, and held the Commodores to 33 percent shooting for the game.