Nov. 17, 2015
Teams: Vanderbilt at Dayton
Day, Date: Wednesday, Nov. 18
Tip-off time: 6 p.m.
Site: Dayton Arena
Radio: 95.9 FM / 560 AM
TV: None
Vanderbilt Game Notes: Vanderbilt vs. Dayton 
Vanderbilt head coach Melanie Balcomb traditionally likes to see her teams face SEC-caliber competition — especially on the road — during the non-conference schedule. And Wednesday’s game certainly classifies as one of those match-ups. The Commodores (1-0), who opened the season with a lopsided win over Mississippi Valley State on Sunday afternoon, will be matched up against a talent-rich Dayton team that advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last season, upsetting Kentucky and Louisville along the way. The Flyers are off to an 1-0 this season — they defeated Yale 81-75 last Friday — and received votes this week in both the AP poll and the USA Today Coaches polls. Here’s a closer look at the game.
l Familiar foes: Vanderbilt and Dayton have formed a budding rivalry in recent years, and Wednesday’s game will mark the third consecutive season in which the Commodores have faced the Flyers. The teams have split the past two meetings, both of which were played at Memorial Gym.
l Plenty of experience: The Commodores and Flyers both rely heavily on their upperclassmen. Vanderbilt senior point guard Jasmine Jenkins is among the battle-tested leaders for the Commodores, and she scored a career-high 24 points in Sunday’s 89-39 win over Mississippi Valley State. The Flyers have three seniors on the roster and all three were named to A-10’s preseason All-Conference Team: Amber Deane was a First Team pick, Kelley Austria was named to the Second Team and Jodie Cornelie-Sigmundova was a Third Team selection.
l Sizing up the Series: Wednesday’s game marks the eighth all-time matchup between the Commodores and Flyers, with Vanderbilt owning a 5-2 lead in the series. … The most recent contest between the teams came last season, when Dayton downed Vanderbilt 71-67 in Nashville on Dec. 2 (more on that game below). … Vanderbilt head coach Melanie Balcomb is 1-2 against Dayton during her tenure at VU. … Wednesday’s game is the fourth time the teams have met in Dayton, with Vanderbilt winning two of the first three. The Flyers, however, won the most recent game in Dayton, posting a 71-66 victory over VU in the 2012-13 season.
l Scouting Dayton: The Flyers have three seniors on the roster — Amber Deane, Kelley Austria and Jodie Cornelie-Sigmundova — who are key factors in Dayton’s scheme on both ends of the floor. Deane has scored more than 1,000 career points, and scored a team-high 19 points in the season opener against Yale. Both Austria and Cornelie-Sigmundova were voted to the A-10’s preseason All-Defensive Team. Cornelie-Sigmundova is poised to break the school record for shot-blocking this season. She has 186 career blocks and needs just 35 more to pass Michele Kruty (220) atop the list.
l About the coach Dayton head coach Jim Jabir is in his 13th season (239-140) at the helm of the Dayton women’s team in 2015-16. He was named the eighth head coach, and first male, in the history of the program on April 8, 2003. Jabir holds a career record of 459-363 over 29 seasons.
l Update on the Flyers: Dayton (1-0) opened the 2015-16 campaign last Friday, posting an 81-75 win over Yale. Senior Amber Deane scored a team-high 19 points and was one of four Dayton players in double figures. Jodie Cornelie-Sigmundova and Jenna Burdette added 12 each and Saicha Grant-Allen had 10. … The Flyers had one of the most successful seasons in the program’s history last year, capped by a memorable run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The postseason push included upsets of Kentucky and Louisvile before the Flyers lost to eventual champion UConn. … Dayton reached the 20-win mark last year for the eighth consecutive season.
l Looking back to last year: Dayton senior Andrea Hoover, the reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, scored a game-high 20 to help the Flyers down Vanderbilt 71-67 last December at Memorial Gym. The Commodores trailed by nine points early in the second half, but battled back to tie the game at 51-51 on a jumper by Rachel Bell with 7:32 to go. Dayton, however, made a series of big plays down the stretch, including a pivotal three-point play by Austria Kelley with 1:08 remaining that gave the Flyers a four-point cushion. Dayton held on from there to hand the Commodores their first home loss of the season. Heather Bowe finished with a team-high 15 points for VU. Kristen Gaffney and Morgan Batey added 13 points apiece.
l Up next for the Commodores: Vanderbilt has another stiff road test on Saturday, when the Commodores visit Green Bay.