Feb. 17, 2015
Teams: Vanderbilt (13-12, 4-8) at Florida (12-13, 4-8)
Day, Date: Thursday, Feb. 19
Tip-off time: 6 p.m. (CT)
Site: O’Connell Center (Gainesville, Fla.)
Radio: 560 AM & 95.9 FM
TV: SEC Network
Online Streaming: HERE (ESPN)
Although Sunday’s game might not have the glamour of a Top-10 matchup, the contest will carry plenty of significance for Vanderbilt and Florida. With four games remaining in the regular season, the Commodores (13-12, 4-8) and Gators (12-13, 4-8) are in a three-way tie — along with Ole Miss — for ninth-place in the SEC standings, and are just one game behind Georgia and Arkansas, who are tied for seventh. Sunday’s game is the second matchup between Vanderbilt and Florida in the span of less than weeks, with the Commodores looking to atone for the 67-58 home loss they suffered to the Gators on Feb. 1. Vanderbilt and Florida, like all the teams in the bottom half of the SEC standings, are trying to avoid finishing among the bottom four teams and having to play on the opening night of the SEC tournament. Here’s a look at a few of the storylines surrounding Thursday’s:
l TRYING TO MAKE A PUSH: After losing their past two games and four of their last five, the Commodores have a golden opportunity to put together a surge over the next 10 days. They will be facing three teams — Florida, Missouri and Auburn — who have a combined SEC record of 8-29. Two of the games will be at Memorial Gym, with Vanderbilt hosting Missouri (4-9 in the SEC) on Sunday and then hosting Auburn (0-12) next Thursday. After this three-game stretch, the Commodores finish the regular season with a trip to Knoxville on March 1 to face the No. 6/6 Lady Vols. Vanderbilt has an 0-29 all-time record in Knoxville.
l UPPER HALF: As the SEC teams continue to battle for seeding for the upcoming SEC Tournament, the Commodores will be looking to add to their tradition of high finishes. Although Vanderbilt has never won an SEC regular-season title, the Commodores have finished sixth place or higher in 26 of the past 33 years, and has never finished lower than tied for eighth. The Commodores have finished second in the conference five times (2009, 2002, 1995, 1994 and 1993) and have also earned five third-place finishes (2011, 2008, 2007, 2005 and 1996) and six fourth-place finishes (2004, 2001, 1998, 1992, 1989 and 1983). Vanderbilt carried a No. 8 seed into last year’s tournament, and finished in seventh place in 2013 and 2012.
l NOT MUCH OF A LONG SHOT: Vanderbilt has historically been a team that relies heavily on the 3-point shot. But this season, the Commodores are taking far fewer shots from long range. Since the start of conference play, Vanderbilt is averaging only 9.5 attempts per game from 3-point range, the third lowest mark in the SEC behind only Texas A&M (6.5 per game) and LSU (9.0). Although the Commodores are shooting 31.6 percent from behind the arc, which ranks fifth in the conference, they are converting an average of only 3.0 three-pointers per game, which ranks 11th. The Commodores finished just 2-of-4 from behind the arc in last Sunday’s loss to South Carolina, marking the fourth game since the start of conference play that VU has attempted less than five 3-pointers. None of VU’s 3-point attempts against South Carolina came in the first half, representing the third time this season that Vanderbilt has played an entire half without attempting a 3-pointer. (Prior to this season, it hadn’t happened since Feb. 3, 2011).
l SCOUTING FLORIDA: Florida is averaging 63.9 points per game, which ranks ninth in the SEC, and the Gators rank seventh in the conference in both field goal percentage (40.1) and three-point percentage (30.9). … The Gators rank second in the SEC in free throw percentage (71.0), and are one of only three teams in the conference shooting 70 percent or higher from the line (along with Tennessee’s 74.2 percent and Mississippi State’s 71.0). … Defensively, Florida is surrendering an average of 61.9 points, which ranks 11th. The Gators rank eighth in blocked shots (3.6 bpg) and third in steals (11.1 spg). … Florida is not particularly strong on the glass, ranking eighth in the SEC in offensive rebounds (13.9) and 12th in defensive rebounds (23.3). … The Gators do not have any players averaging double-figures in scoring, but have three players who are averaging nine points or higher — Ronni Williams (9.8), Kayla Lewis (9.4) and Cassie Peoples (9.4). … Lewis is the team’s leading rebounder at 7.0 rpg. … Peoples leads the SEC in free throw percentage at 87.0 percent.
l SIZING UP THE SERIES: Thursday’s game marks the 54th meeting between Vanderbilt and Florida, with the Commodores owning a 32-21 lead in the series. … The Gators have won the two most recent matchups, including a 68-57 victory this season at Memorial Gym on Feb. 1 and a 73-68 in Nashville last season that spoiled Senior Night for the Commodores. … Vanderbilt has a 12-10 all-time record in Gainesville, and have won four straight at the O’Connell Center. Florida hasn’t beaten Vanderbilt in Gainesville since the 2005-06 season. … Vanderbilt head coach Melanie Balcomb is 13-6 against the Gators, including 5-2 in Gainesville, during her tenure at VU. … The Commodores went 11-2 against Florida from the 2004-2005 through 2012-13 seasons. … The series dates back to the 1978-79 season, which was the second year of the Vanderbilt WBB program.
l UPDATE ON THE GATORS: Florida got off to a tough start in SEC play, losing five of its first six. But the Gators have gone 3-3 since, including an impressive road win over then-No. 24 Georgia last week. … Oddly, three of Florida’s four conference wins have come on the road, with the Gators winning at Auburn, Vanderbilt and Georgia. … Florida is coming off a 75-62 road loss to No. 13/15 Mississippi State on Sunday. … The Gators went 8-5 in non-conference play. They opened the year 5-1, but then lost seven of their next 10, including falling to Savannah State and Eastern Washington.
l LOOKING BACK: When Vanderbilt and Florida met earlier this month, the Gators used an 18-point, 11-rebound effort from Kayla Lewis to down the Commodores, 68-57, at Memorial Gym on Feb. 1. The Florida win was fueled by outstanding free-throw shooting, as the Gators made 18-of-19 from the line (94.7 percent), including 15-of-16 in the second half. Vanderbilt sophomore Marqu’es Webb had a season-high 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds — her second double-double of the season — and Rebekah Dahlman added 13 points and six assists. Freshman Rachel Bell finished with 12 points for the Commodores, who shot just 28 percent from the floor in the first half. Vanderbilt trailed 32-22 at the half, and saw the deficit swell to 15 points early in the second half. The Commodores then charged back, trimming Florida’s lead to five points with 10:14 to go. But the Gators fought off the Commodores’ comeback bid, and posted a victory in Nashville for a second straight year. (Florida spoiled Senior Day for the Commodores during the 2013-14 season with a 73-68 win at Memorial Gym).
l MOST RECENT GAME: VU SUFFERS ROAD LOSS TO SOUTH CAROLINA: Tiffany Mitchell and A’ja Wilson scored 20 points apiece as No. 1/2-ranked South Carolina remained perfect in SEC play with an 89-59 victory over Vanderbilt on Sunday. Mitchell, the reigning SEC player of the year, scored 15 first-half points to help the Gamecocks take control. The loss was Vanderbilt’s fourth in the past five games, and dropped the Commodores to 13-12 overall and 4-8 in the conference. Vanderbilt hung with South Carolina early, and battled to a 15-15 tie after a layup by Rebekah Dahlman with 11:29 left in the first half. But the Gamecocks outscored Vanderbilt 31-12 the rest of the half, and the Commodores trailed 46-27 at the break. Vanderbilt then opened the second half with a 6-0 run to trim the deficit to 46-33, but SC responded with a 16-5 run to push the lead to 62-38, and the Gamecocks rolled home from there. Dahlman finished with a team-high 13 points, Marqu’es Webb added 11 and Paris Kea had 10.
l ‘DOZEN’ IT FEEL GREAT? With March Madness around the corner, the Commodores are looking to extend several streaks. Head coach Melanie Balcomb has led the team to the NCAA Tournament in each of her 12 seasons since arriving at Vanderbilt, and she is one of only six coaches to have done so each year during that span. The others are: Geno Auriemma (Connecticut), Tara VanDerveer (Stanford), Joanne P. McCallie (Mich. State/Duke), Muffet McGraw (Notre Dame) and Andy Landers (Georgia). Overall, the Commodores have made the NCAA tournament in each of the past 15 seasons and 25 of the past 26. They have made 26 total appearances, which ranks third among the SEC teams behind only Tennessee and Georgia. Over the next two weeks, the Commodores will look to bolster their chances of making this year’s tournament by producing a strong finish to the regular season.
l THREE IN DOUBLE-DIGITS: In Sunday’s loss to South Carolina, the Commodores had three double-digit scorers — Rebekah Dahlman (13 points), Marqu’es Webb (11) and Paris Kea (10) — which marked the fourth consecutive contest in which three Vanderbilt players have scored 10 points or more. Prior to the recent four-game stretch, the Commodores had two players or fewer reach double figures in seven of their first eight SEC games. For the season, Vanderbilt is just 4-8 when two or fewer reach the mark.
l HARD TIME SCORING: The Commodores have run into problems on the offensive end during SEC play. They are averaging 56.8 points per game, which ranks 10th in the SEC and is almost 10 points below their SEC average (65.4) from last season. Vanderbilt has been limited to 59 points or less in nine of its past 11 SEC games, including scoring 49 or fewer points in three of those games (losses to Tennessee, LSU and Mississippi State).
l WEBB AND FLOW: When she’s healthy, Marqu’es Webb has proven that she can be one of the SEC’s most effective players. In the four games this season in which she has logged 25 minutes or more of playing time, Webb is averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 60.7 percent (17-of-28) from the floor. She logged 29 minutes in Sunday’s loss to South Carolina, and finished with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. In the first meeting against Florida earlier this month, the sophomore post player scored a season-high 15 points and pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds while logging 28 minutes of playing time in Vanderbilt’s 67-58 loss. Webb missed four games with an injury in December, and has seen her playing time limited to 15 minutes or less in seven other games.
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 month, which continues a season-long theme for the Commodores. Only twice in the first 25 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 due to injuries, illness or other reasons. Khaléann Caron-Goudreau sat out the first 12 games while recovering from an ankle injury and has missed the past 10 games while dealing with a back injury. Reed and Shaw have both been sidelined the past nine 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 and then sat out the game against Florida due to illness). Freshman Rachel Bell and redshirt sophomore Kristen Gaffney have missed one game each with illness.
l STARTING CHANGES: Due to injuries and inconsistent play, the Commodores have used 10 different starting lineups this season. In the past four games, head coach Melanie Balcomb has used the combination of Morgan Batey, Heather Bowe, Rebekah Dahlman, Jasmine Jenkins and Marqu’es Webb. Prior to that four-game stretch, the Commodores had gone seven consecutive games with the same starting five of Dahlman, Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau, Jenkins, Bowe and Batey, which represented the longest stretch of the season in which the same group was used. 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 eight different combinations being used through the first 14 games. Morgan Batey is the lone Commodore to start all 25 games. Here’s a quick look at who’s been used in starting lineup: Batey (25 games), Rebekah Dahlman (23), Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau (16), Jasmine Jenkins (16) Heather Bowe (15), Marqu’es Webb (11), 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 has a team-high 23 blocked shots for the season. In Vanderbilt’s win over Arkansas on Jan. 22, she finished with five blocked shots, becoming 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. The Commodores have 61 blocked shots for the season for an average of 2.4 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. Freshman guard Paris Kea, who is among the shortest players Vanderbilt roster at 5-9, ranks second on the team with 10.
l MILD THING, YOU MAKE OUR HEART SING: Kristen Gaffney, the mild-mannered redshirt sophomore post player, was among the biggest heroes in last Thursday’s comeback win over Ole Miss. She delivered the game-winning basket when she converted a layup with six seconds to play, breaking a 54-54 tie and giving the Commodores their first lead of the second half. Gaffney finished with just four points, but her late-game heroics enabled Vanderbilt to claim a victory in a contest the Commodores desperately needed. The memorable moment was a long time in the making for Gaffney, who was sidelined her entire freshman season and most of last year by knee injuries. (She has suffered ACL injuries in both knees during her college career). Gaffney is one of the less emotional players on the roster, and head coach Melanie Balcomb has often said that Gaffney’s level-headedness has a calming effect on the other players during intense situations. “It takes a lot to get me excited,” Gaffney said with a smile after the win. Gaffney has seen action in 21 games this season, including making five starts, and is averaging 5.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. She has reached double figures in scoring in seven games this season.