March 3, 2015
Event: SEC Tournament, First Round
Teams: No. 11-seeded Vanderbilt (14-15) vs. No. 14-seeded Alabama (13-18)
Day, Date: Wednesday, March 4
Tip-off time: 6:30 p.m. (CT) — adjust due to weather
Site: Verizon Arena (Little Rock, Arkansas)
Radio: 560 AM
Viewing: SEC Network-Plus
After closing the regular season on a three-game losing streak, the Vanderbilt women head into the postseason looking to recapture their mojo. And perhaps they are headed to just the right place to do it. The Commodores (14-15) open action in the SEC Tournament against Alabama (13-18) on Wednesday night in Little Rock, Ark., where they captured the SEC Tournament championship in March of 2009. That year, Vanderbilt posted three consecutive wins in the tourney, capped by a victory over Auburnin the championship game, to secure the sixth SEC tournament title in the program’s history and the third under head coach Melanie Balcomb. This year, the Commodores — who have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past 15 seasons — will have to take a much more scenic route if they are going to win the SEC title. Vanderbilt, the No. 11 seed, will need to reel off five wins in five days, beginning with Wednesday’s game against No. 14-seeded Alabama. The Commodores and Tide will both be looking to recover from late-season struggles: Vanderbilt — which beat Alabama 55-52 in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 25 — enters Wednesday’s contest having lost three consecutive games, five of its past six, and seven of its past nine. Alabama has lost five straight games, nine of its past 10, and 14 of its past 16. Vanderbilt closed the regular season with a 79-49 road loss to No. 6/6 Tennessee, while Alabama fell to rival Auburn and slipped into the SEC cellar. The winner of Wednesday’s game will face sixth-seeded Kentucky on Thursday. Here are a few storylines surrounding Wednesday’s game:
l DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE: The No. 11-seeded Commodores enter this year’s tournament in an unfamiliar position. This is the first time since the 1982-83 campaign that Vanderbilt ended the regular season with a losing overall record, and marks the first time during head coach Melanie Balcomb’s tenure that the Commodores are seeded lower than No. 8 for the SEC tourney. Vanderbilt, in fact, has never been seeded lower than ninth for the conference tourney in the program’s history. The Commodores have entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed or higher in nine of the past 12 seasons under Balcomb, including being one of the top four seeds a total of five times (2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2005) in that span.
l(LITTLE) ROCK SOLID: This is the fourth time that the SEC tourney has been held in Little Rock — and the Commodores have historically enjoyed their visits. They’ve posted a 6-2 all-time record in their three visits to Little Rock, highlighted by the 2009 tournament championship run that featured wins over Georgia, LSU and Auburn. Vanderbilt also advanced to the SEC semifinals during the 2003 tournament in Little Rock.
lHISTORY OF SUCCESS: Head coach Melanie Balcomb has a rich history of postseason success at Vanderbilt. She has guided the Commodores to three SEC tournament titles (2009, 2007 and 2004) and has posted a career record of 20-9 in the SEC Tournament. From 2004 through 2009, her Vanderbilt teams compiled a 12-3 mark in SEC tournament play, and they have won at least one tournament game in 11 of her 12 seasons at helm (with last year being the lone exception). Overall, the Commodores have won the tournament six times in the program’s history — 2009, 2007, 2004, 2002, 1995 and 1993.
lNOT MUCH EXPERIENCE: As would be expected from a young team, the Commodores don’t have much SEC Tournament experience. Juniors Morgan Batey and Jasmine Jenkins have each seen action in three SEC tourney games in their careers, but the remaining 11 players on the roster have a combined total of just eight games of tournament experience: Heather Bowe (two games), Kendall Shaw (two), Rayte’a Long (two), Marqu’es Webb (one) and Kristen Gaffney (one). Six players on the roster — the five true freshmen, along with redshirt freeman Rebekah Dahlman — have never played in an SEC tournament game.
lCHALLENGE AFTER CHALLENGE: Sunday’s 72-42 loss against No. 6/6 Tennessee marked the ninth time this season that the Commodores lined up against a ranked opponent, and was Vanderbilt’s fourth game against a Top-10 foe. And that stat only tells part of the story. For the season, the Commodores have faced 11 teams that are currently ranked among the Top-40 in RPI (No. 2 Tennessee, No. 4 South Carolina, No. 5 UConn, No. 9 Kentucky, No. 14 Dayton, No. 17 Arizona State, No. 22 Green Bay, No. 25 James Madison, No. 26 Mississippi State, No. 28 Texas A&M and No. 39 Minnesota). Not surprisingly, the Commodores’ strength of schedule is ranked No. 4 in the nation, according to RPIratings.com. Although Vanderbilt owns a 1-8 record against ranked opponents — with the victory being a 78-62 win over previously-unbeaten Mississippi State on Jan. 19 — the Commodores have defeated five teams that are ranked among the Top-50 in RPI. The list includes wins over No. 22 Green Bay, No. 25 James Madison, No. 26 Mississippi State, No. 39 Minnesota and No. 46 Arkansas. (Note: RPI rankings in the above stats are according to NCAA.com).
lDOES SHE EVER MISS?: Marqu’es Webb is shooting 59.3 percent from the floor this season — and in the last five games, she’s done even better than that. The sophomore post player is shooting 67.8 percent (21-of-31) during that five-game stretch, while averaging 10.6 points per game. She had 13 points and nine rebounds in the recent loss to Auburn, narrowly missing what would have been her second straight double-double. Webb has been slowed by injuries throughout the season — including missing four games in December — but has showed flashes of just what a dominating player she can be. In the six games this season in which she has logged 25 minutes or more of playing time, Webb is averaging 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while shooting 65.0 percent (26-of-40) from the floor. She posted double-doubles in three of those games.
lSCOUTING ALABAMA: The Tide’s top player is sophomore Ashley Williams, who leads the team in scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg). Williams, who ranks 12th in the SEC in scoring, is the lone Alabama player averaging in double figures in scoring. … Overall, the underclassmen on the Tide’s roster have accounted for 76.2 percent (1,412 of 1,853) of the team’s scoring and 56.2 percent (662 of 1,178) of its rebounding. … Alabama has endured a tough season on offense, ranking 12th in the SEC in scoring (59.8 ppg), 11th in field goal percentage (37.7), 13th in 3-point percentage (25.5), and 12th in free throw percentage (62.8). … Defensively, Alabama ranks 11th in points allowed per game (62.2), 12th in field goal defense (40.3 percent) and last in 3-point defense (33.0 percent). … The Tide ranks 10th in the conference in rebound margin (+1), ninth in blocked shots (3.3) and 10th in steals (8.8).
lSIZING UP THE SERIES: Wednesday’s game marks the 43rd all-time meeting between the teams, and Vanderbilt owns a 30-12 lead in the series. … This will be the fifth time that the Commodores and Tide have faced each other in the SEC Tournament, but only the second time since 1985. The series is tied 2-2 in the SEC Tournament. The most recent postseason meeting came in 2006 — in Little Rock — when VU posted an 86-62 victory. Vanderbilt also beat the Tide during the 1985 tournament. Alabama defeated the Commodores at the tourney in 1984 and 1980 … In the lone meeting between the teams this season, Vanderbilt defeated Alabama 55-52 in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 25 … Head coach Melanie Balcomb owns a 14-2 mark against Alabama since arriving at Vanderbilt. … The Tide posted a 66-62 victory over VU last season in Nashville, marking Alabama’s first-ever win at Memorial Gym after 17 straight losses in the historic building. … Vanderbilt had won 12 straight games in the series prior to Alabama’s win last season. … The Commodores have gone 18-2 against Alabama since the start of the 1999-2000 season. … The series dates back to the 1977-78 season, Vanderbilt’s first season of WBB.
lUPDATE ON THE TIDE: Alabama closed the regular season on Sunday with a loss to rival Auburn, which sent the Tide into last place in the conference. Alabama finished one game behind the 13th-place Tigers. … The Tide comes into Wednesday’s game on a five-game losing skid, and hasn’t posted a victory since beating Missouri, 67-64, on Feb. 12 in Tuscaloosa. … The Tide’s other SEC win came against Auburn on Jan. 22. … After that win over Auburn, the Tide closed the regular season with nine losses in its final 10 games. … Alabama is 2-1 at neutral-site games this year, with wins over Georgetown and Temple, along with a loss to Quinnipiac. All three of those games came during the Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge in November.
lLOOKING BACK: When Vanderbilt visited Alabama on Jan. 25, the Commodores held on for a 55-52 win to earn their first SEC road win of the season. Vanderbilt freshman Paris Kea hit two free throws with 10 seconds left to give the Commodores a thee-point lead, and Alabama missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer. Morgan Batey scored a team-high 14 points for the Commodores and Kea added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Ashley Williams led Alabama with 12 points. After seeing a 16-point first-half advantage turn into a two-point deficit near the midway mark of the second half, the Commodores came up with a series of huge plays in the final eight minutes to grab the win. Vanderbilt dominated early, jumping out to a 15-1 lead while Alabama was trapped in the field-goal drought that lasted the first 10:07 of the game. The VU lead swelled to 21-5 with 5:58 left in the half, and the Commodores eventually carried a 32-24 lead into the locker room. But Alabama made a huge second-half surge, eventually grabbing a two-point lead after two free throws by Meoshonti Knight with 10:09 to go. The free throws capped a 12-3 run by the Tide. Vanderbilt, however, answered with a 6-0 run to retake a four-point lead, 45-41, after a layup by Kristen Gaffney with 8:55 remaining and the Commodores held on down the stretch.
lMOST RECENT GAME: VU FALLS TO TENNESSEE: Traveling to Knoxville on Sunday, Vanderbilt suffered a 79-49 loss to No. 6/6 Tennessee and saw its losing streak extended to three games. Ariel Massengale finished 8-of-11 from 3-point range and scored a game-high 26 points for the Lady Vols. Vanderbilt freshman Paris Kea scored a career-high 18 points. She finished 7-of-14 from the floor while playing a team-high 31 minutes for the Commodores, who saw their all-time record in Knoxville fall to 0-30. Marqu’es Webb added 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting before fouling out for the Commodores.
lTHE TRADITION CONTINUES: Since the arrival of head coach Melanie Balcomb, the Commodores have finished among the top-20 nationally in field goal percentage in 11 of the past 12 seasons — and they’re on pace to do it again. Vanderbilt is shooting 45.3 percent from the floor this season, which ranks 11th in the country and second in the SEC. Sophomore Marqu’es Webb is shooting a team-high 59.3 percent, and four of her teammates are also above 50 percent: Heather Bowe (53.5), Morgan Batey (52.3), Kristen Gaffney (50.9) and Rayte’a Long (50.0). All five players have seen action in 20 or more games. The Commodores have ranked among the top 10 teams in the nation on field goal percentage six times during the Balcomb era, including leading the country at 51.3 percent in 2002-03.
l‘DOZEN’ IT FEEL GREAT? With March Madness around the corner, it’s certainly worth noting that head coach Melanie Balcomb has led the Commodores to the NCAA Tournament in each of her 12 seasons since arriving at Vanderbilt. 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.
lINJURY REPORT: With her team slowed by injuries throughout the season, head coach Melanie Balcomb has had the luxury of having all 13 of her players available for only two games this year (which came in January against Tennessee and LSU). Redshirt sophomore Kendall Shaw and true freshmen Christa Reed and Khaléann Caron-Goudreau have each been out of action for much of the SEC schedule, and 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 sat out the first 12 games while recovering from an ankle injury and has now missed the past 14 games while dealing with a back injury. Reed and Shaw have both been sidelined the past 13 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.
lSTARTING TO SETTLE IN: The Vanderbilt starting lineup was in flux for the first half of the season — with eight different combinations used in the first 14 games — but the changes have slowed down over the past few weeks, and head coach Melanie Balcomb has used only two combinations for the past 15 games. Morgan Batey, Heather Bowe, Rebekah Dahlman, Jasmine Jenkins and Marqu’es Webb have started the past eight games. Before that, Dahlman, Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau, Jenkins, Bowe and Batey had formed the starting five for seven straight games. All told, 10 of the 13 players on the Vanderbilt roster have seen their names in the starting lineup in various games this season.
lWORKING FOR THE SWAT TEAM: Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau has given the Commodores a new element this season. The 6-3 post player from Canada has notched a team-high 28 blocked shots, which is more than the entire Vanderbilt roster compiled last season (24). In Vanderbilt’s win over Arkansas on Jan. 22, Caron-Goudreau 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 68 blocked shots for the season for an average of 2.3 per game. That’s a huge jump from last season, when the Commodores ranked last in the country (343rd) with 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.
lDAHLMAN SEEKS CONSISTENCY: Vanderbilt freshman Rebekah Dahlman has endured a pair of tough games to end the regular season, going 2-of-18 from the floor in the two games. But prior to last week, Dahlman had put together a four-game stretch in which she averaged 14.7 points per contest and shot 58 percent (11-of-19) from 3-point range. She scored a team-high 18 points in the win at Florida, hitting a season-high five 3-pointers while playing all 45 minutes of the overtime contest. Her emergence in recent games is a crucial development for the young Commodores, who have no seniors on the roster. Last season, Vanderbilt had two unquestioned leaders — seniors Christina Foggie and Jasmine Lister — who combined for 45.7 percent of the team’s scoring and accounted for 80.1 percent of the team’s 3-pointers. (Foggie and Lister scored 1,015 of VU’s 2,218 total points, and produced 133 of Vanderbilt’s 166 three-pointers). Through 26 games this season, a total of nine players — among the 13 on the roster — have either led the team in scoring or tied for game-high honors.
lGOING AWAY FROM THE 3s: After making a season-high eight 3-pointers during the overtime victory against Florida on Feb. 19, the Commodores have gone cold again. They made just 7-of-35 (20 percent) from 3-point during the final three games of the regular season. The Commodores, traditionally one of best outside shooting teams in the conference, averaged only 3.2 three-pointers per game in SEC play this season, which ranked 11th in the conference. Vanderbilt attempted nine or fewer 3-pointers in seven SEC games, including four games in which the Commodores attempted five or fewer.
lVANDERBILT’S SEC TOURNAMENT HISTORY AT A GLANCE:
Vanderbilt’s all-time SEC Tournament record: 45-29
Head coach’s Melanie Balcomb’s all-time SEC Tournament record:20-9
Vanderbilt SEC Tournament titles: Six (2009, 2007, 2004, 2002, 1995, 1993)
VU’s SEC Tournament Semifinal appearances: 18