Jan. 31, 2015
Teams: Florida (10-11, 2-6) at Vanderbilt (12-9, 3-5)
Day, Date: Sunday, Feb. 1
Tip-off time: 3 p.m. (CT)
Site: Memorial Gym (Nashville, Tenn.)
Radio: 560 AM & 95.9 FM
TV: Fox Sports Net
Super Bowl Sunday proved to be a super day for the Vanderbilt women last year. Today, they’re hoping that will ring true again. As they open the back half of their SEC schedule, the Commodores (12-9, 3-5) will host Florida (10-11, 2-6) at Memorial Gym. The Vanderbilt players will be looking to replicate the same type of performance they delivered on Super Bowl Sunday last year, when they defeated Texas A&M, 71-69, in a battle of nationally-ranked teams at Memorial Gym. Sunday’s game marks the first of three straight home games for the Commodores, who will be looking to bounce back quickly after suffering a 69-44 road loss to No. 18/18 Mississippi State on Thursday night. Florida will likewise be looking to get back on track after the Gators were saddled with a 68-52 home loss to Missouri on Thursday. Here’s a look at a few of the storylines surrounding Sunday’s game:
l CHANCE TO FINISH STRONG: Although they struggled in the first half of the SEC schedule, the Commodores have reason to be optimistic as they head into the final five weeks of the regular season and pursue their 16th consecutive berth in the NCAA tournament. Beginning with Sunday’s game against the Florida, the Commodores will play five of their final eight regular-season games at Memorial Gym, where they have posted an 8-2 record this season, including beating two teams with an RPI of 20 or higher (No. 18 Green Bay and No. 25 James Madison). Vanderbilt is currently ranked 37th in RPI and has the highest rating, by far, of any team with 12 wins or less. (The next highest RPI by a team with 12 wins or less is No. 51 Purdue, which has a 10-11 record). During February, the Commodores will have face several of the SEC’s upper-echelon teams early in the month, with games against Ole Miss, Kentucky and South Carolina — three teams with a combined SEC record of 17-7. Vanderbilt then closes February with three consecutive games against teams in the bottom half of the standings — Florida, Missouri and Auburn, who have a combined conference record of 4-20.
l NOT DOUBLING UP: It’s not often that two SEC teams take the floor without a double-digit scorer on either roster, but that will be the case Sunday. Vanderbilt’s leading scorer is redshirt freshman Rebekah Dahlman, who is averaging 9.8 points per game, and Florida’s top scorer is sophomore Ronni Williams, who is also averaging 9.8 per game.
l LONG-RANGE DROP OFF: Vanderbilt has historically been one of the most prolific 3-point shooting teams in the SEC, but that tradition hasn’t continued this season. In their first eight SEC games, the Commodores have attempted only 79 shots from 3-point range (9.9 per game). They have made 25 of those attempts for an average of 3.1 per game, which ranks 11th in the conference. In Thursday’s game at Mississippi State, the Commodores did not attempt a 3-pointer in the first half, which marked the third time in the past five games that Vanderbilt went an entire half without taking a shot from behind the arc. (It also happened against MSU on Jan. 11 and against Arkansas on Jan. 22). Prior to those two games, it had been almost four years since Vanderbilt played an entire half without taking a 3-pointer, dating back to a 55-50 win over LSU on Feb. 3, 2011. Overall in the past five games, Vanderbilt has taken just 35 shots from 3-point range (7.0 per game) and has made 12 of those attempts (2.4 per game). Early in the season, the Commodores were hoisting 3s with regularity, attempting 10 or more in 14 of their first 15 games. But they’ve done so only twice in the last six games.
l SCOUTING THE GATORS: Florida ranks in the middle of the pack in the SEC in several offensive categories: The Gators are seventh in scoring (64.5 ppg), eighth in field goal percentage (40.1), seventh in 3-point percentage (30.3) and seventh in offensive rebounds (14.6 rpg). … Defensively, though, Florida has had some problems. The Gators rank 12th in the SEC in points allowed (62 per game), 13th in field-goal defense (40 percent), 11th in blocked shots (3.5 per game) and 12th in defensive rebounds (24.0). … Although Florida does not have a player averaging double-figures in scoring, the Gators have three players who are averaging nine points or better: sophomore Ronni Williams (9.8 ppg), redshirt senior Kayla Lewis (9.4) and redshirt junior Cassie Peoples (9.0). … Lewis is Florida’s top rebounder, averaging 7.0 per game. … The Gators most dangerous outside shooter is Carlie Needles, who leads the team in 3-pointers (34), 3-point attempts (90) and 3-point percentage (37.8).
l SIZING UP THE SERIES: Sunday’s game marks the 53rd meeting between the Commodores and Gators, with Vanderbilt owning a 32-20 lead in the series. … Vanderbilt is 16-7 all-time against Florida at Memorial Gym. … Florida won the most recent matchup between the teams, spoiling Vanderbilt’s Senior Day festivities last season by beating the Commodores 73-68, on Feb. 27 at Memorial Gym (more on that game below). … Vanderbilt head coach Melanie Balcomb is 13-5 against the Gators, including 5-3 in Nashville, during her tenure at VU. … The series dates back to the 1978-79 season, which was Vanderbilt’s second season of women’s basketball. … The Commodores have dominated the series in recent years, going 11-3 since the start of the 2004-05 season, although the teams have split their four most recent games.
l FLORIDA’S SEASON TO DATE: The Gators opened the season with five wins in their first six games — including a road win at Georgetown — but have gone just 5-10 since then. … Florida, like Vanderbilt, played five of its first eight SEC games on the road. The Gators went 1-4 in those games, with the lone win coming at Auburn on Jan. 4. Florida’s other SEC win was a 72-58 victory over Arkansas in Gainesville. … Florida faced back-to-back Top-10 opponents in mid-January, when the Gators fell to then-No. 10 Kentucky 62-56 on the road on Jan. 15 and then suffered a 77-42 home defeat to No. 1-ranked South Carolina on Jan. 19. … In its most recent game, Florida lost at home to Missouri, 68-52.
l LOOKING BACK: When Vanderbilt hosted Florida last season on Feb. 28, the Gators downed the Commodores 73-68 and spoiled the Senior Day festivities at Memorial Gym. Vanderbilt fell behind 23-6 in the opening 10 minutes of the first half and then saw a second-half comeback bid fall short. Vanderbilt standout Christina Foggie, playing the final home game of her outstanding career, scored a game-high 24 points, and fellow senior standout Jasmine Lister added nine points and seven rebounds. Jaterra Bonds finished with 18 to lead Florida. … Vanderbilt, which trailed 42-30 at the half, trimmed Florida’s lead to three points on four occasions in the final eight minutes, but the Gators always had an answer. Florida’s Cassie Peoples hit one of the biggest shots when she knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:57 to go after Vanderbilt had pulled within three points. Florida’s Carlie Needles sealed the win for the Gators when she hit two free throws with five seconds remaining to push Florida’s lead to 73-68. Vanderbilt freshman Kylee Smith finished with 15 points and five rebounds, and sophomore Morgan Batey had her second career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Vanderbilt’s Kristen Gaffney, who had been sidelined by knee injuries, made her debut with the Commodores. Logging five minutes of action, Gaffney had two rebounds and two assists.
l MOST RECENT GAME: COMMODORES GO COLD: Limited to 34 percent shooting from the floor, Vanderbilt suffered a lopsided loss in Starkville on Thursday night, falling to No. 18 Mississippi State, 69-44. MSU’s Victoria Vivians, who entered the night ranked sixth in the SEC scoring, went 5-of-7 from 3-point range in the second half and finished with a game-high 20 points. Martha Alwal added 14 points and Kendra Grant had 12 for the Bulldogs, who gained a measure of revenge on the Commodores. Less than three weeks earlier, Vanderbilt had ended MSU’s 18-game, season-opening winning streak by downing the Bulldogs, 78-62, in Nashville. But the rematch belonged to the Bulldogs, who built a 30-19 at the half and then used Vivians’ hot shooting to pull away in the final 20 minutes. Vanderbilt finished just 1-for-10 from 3-point range, and the Commodores committed 22 turnovers against the relentless MSU defense. Rebekah Dahlman led Vanderbilt with eight points.
l IMPROVING THEIR RESUMÈ: Vanderbilt has posted a 1-5 record against ranked opponents this season, but the Commodores have several more chances to improve that mark in the next few weeks, including three matchups against teams currently ranked in the Associated Press Top-10: Vanderbilt hosts No. 10 Kentucky on Feb. 8; visits top-ranked South Carolina on Feb. 15; and travels to No. 6 Tennessee on March 1.
l INJURY REPORT: Redshirt sophomore Kendall Shaw and true freshmen Christa Reed and Khaléann Caron-Goudreau have each been sidelined by injuries over the past two weeks, which continues a season-long theme for the Commodores. Only twice in the first 21 games has head coach Melanie Balcomb had the luxury of having all 13 of her players available for action (the two games were against Tennessee and LSU). Overall, a total of seven Vanderbilt players — more than half the roster — have missed time this season due to injuries, illness or other reasons. Khaléann Caron-Goudreau has missed the most time, sitting out the first 12 games while recovering from an ankle injury and then missing the past six games. Reed and Shaw have both been sidelined the past five games with ankle injuries. Others who have missed multiple games include junior Heather Bowe (who was unavailable for the first eight games while serving a suspension for violation of academic policy), sophomore Marqu’es Webb (who missed four games in December with a knee injury) and Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau (who missed three games in December after sustaining a concussion in practice). Freshman Rachel Bell and redshirt sophomore Kristen Gaffney have missed one game each with illness.
l STARTING TO LOOK FAMILIAR: The Commodores appear to have settled on a starting five. The combination of Rebekah Dahlman, Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau, Jasmine Jenkins Heather Bowe and Morgan Batey has formed the starting five in each of the past seven games, which is the longest stretch of the season in which the same group has been used. Prior to recent stabilization, the Commodores’ starting lineup was in constant flux, as injuries and inconsistent play caused head coach Melanie Balcomb to use eight different combinations through the first 14 games. The first change to the lineup came in just the second game of the season, and it changed again in the fourth game. From there, new combinations were used in Game 8, Game 9, Game 11, Game 13 and Game 14. All told, 10 of the 13 players on the Vanderbilt roster have seen their names in the starting lineup in various games this season, with Morgan Batey being the lone Commodore to start all 20 games. Here’s a quick look at who’s been used in starting lineup: Batey (21 games), Rebekah Dahlman (19), Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau (16), Jasmine Jenkins (16) Heather Bowe (11), Marqu’es Webb (7), Paris Kea (6), Kristen Gaffney (5), Rachel Bell (4) and Christa Reed (4)
l WORKING FOR THE SWAT TEAM: It’s been a long time since Vanderbilt had a shot-blocking specialist, but freshman Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau is beginning to earn that label. The 6-3 post player from Canada swatted five shots last Thursday against Arkansas to become the first Vanderbilt player to block five or more shots in a game game since Liz Sherwood had six against LSU on Jan. 10, 2008. For the season, Caron-Goudreau has blocked 20 shots, which leads the team by a wide margin. Surprisingly, Paris Kea, who is among the shortest players Vanderbilt roster at 5-9, ranks second on the team with eight. The Commodores have 54 blocked shots for the season for an average of 2.6 per game. That’s a huge jump from last season, when the Commodores ranked last in the country (343rd) with a total of just 24 (an average of 0.8 per game) for the year.