Dec. 4, 2015
Teams: Vanderbilt (6-2) vs. East Tennessee State (3-5)
Day, Date: Saturday, Dec. 5
Tip-off time: 1 p.m.
Site: Memorial Gym (Nashville, Tenn.)
Radio: 560 AM and 95.9 FM
Viewing: SEC Network Plus (online)
Tickets: Tickets can be purchased by calling 615-322-GOLD, visiting the McGugin Center ticket office or logging on to vucommodores.com.
Propelled by the adrenaline of a five-game winning streak, the Vanderbilt women are ready for yet another stamina test on Saturday, when they host in-state rival ETSU at Memorial Gym. The contest comes right on the heels of Vanderbilt’s 74-64 road win over Dayton on Thursday night, and continues a whirlwind stretch for the Commodores, who will be playing their sixth game in the span of 13 days. Here’s a closer look at Saturday’s contest:
l The skinny on the Commodores: Vanderbilt will ride a big wave of momentum into Saturday’s contest after reeling off five straight wins, four of which have come by double-digit margins. The string begin with four straight wins at home — over Presbyterian, Austin Peay, Ohio and Air Force — followed by Vanderbilt’s first road win of the season on Thursday night at Drexel. … Vanderbilt sophomore guard Rachel Bell has been the hottest Commodore in the past two games, scoring a career-high 20 points in the win over Air Force and surpassing that with a 24-point effort against Drexel. She has gone 18-of-25 from the floor (72 percent), including 8-of-10 from 3-point range, in those two games, and has taken over the team lead in scoring at 12.4 points per game. … Marqu’es Webb is VU’s leading rebounder at 4.8 per game despite averaging only 11 minutes of playing time per contest. … Minta Spears leads the team is assists (5.7 per game) and minutes played (33.2).
l Milestone watch: Head coach Melanie Balcomb and the Vanderbilt WBB program are both approaching some nice, round numbers. The Commodores are just one win away from notching their 800th victory in program history, and they can reach the mark on Saturday. Balcomb, in her 14th season with the Commodores, needs just two more wins to reach 300 at Vanderbilt. Balcomb is Vanderbilt’s all-time wins leader, and is the SEC’s active leader in conference victories.
l Update on ETSU: The Buccaneers — who earned an WNIT bid last season after winning 21 games — are off to a 3-5 start this year. They will carry a three-game losing streak into Saturday’s game. In its most recent game, ETSU suffered an 85-49 loss to Tennessee. Prior to that, the Bucs fell to Elon, 50-38, and to Eastern Kentucky, 64-41, to close out November. … ETSU is 1-5 on the road this season, with the lone win coming at Old Dominion on Nov. 23. The five road losses — to Wake Forest, Appalachian State, Eastern Kentucky, Elon and Tennessee — have come by an average margin of 21 points.
l Scouting the Buccaneers: ETSU is averaging 53.9 points per game and is allowing 63 points per game. … The Bucs are led in scoring by Shamauria Bridges, who is averaging 17.5 ppg. Tianna Tarter is also averaging double figures at 11 points per game. … Sadasia Tipps is the team’s top rebounder at 7.3 per game. … ETSU is shooting just 34.5 percent from the floor, including 28 percent from 3-point range, and shooting only 56 percent from the foul line. But the Buccaneers’ defense has been solid, limiting opponents to 39 percent shooting.
l Sizing up the Series: Saturday’s game will be the seventh all-time meeting between the Commodores and the Buccaneers. Vanderbilt owns a 4-2 lead in the series after winning the past four matchups against ETSU. … The teams most recent meeting came two seasons ago, when the Commodores posted a 92-71 win at Memorial Gym. … Vanderbilt head coach Melanie Balcomb is 3-0 against ETSU during her tenure at VU. …. Vanderbilt owns a 3-1 all-time record against ETSU in games played in Nashville.
l About the opposing coach: ETSU head coach Brittney Ezell is in her third season at ETSU after spending the previous three seasons as head coach at Belmont. She helped guide the Bucs to a 21-12 record and a WNIT appearance last season after the team went 9-21 in her first season at the helm. The 12-win improvement was the second largest by any team in the country.
l Vanderbilt’s most recent game: Rachel Bell scored a career-high 24 points, going 10-of-14 from the floor, as Vanderbilt won its fifth straight game — and earned its first road victory — by downing Drexel, 74-64, on Thursday night. Kristen Gaffney finished with 11 points and Jasmine Jenkins and Christa Reed added 10 each. The Commodores carried a 12-point lead into fourth quarter, and withstood a late push by the Dragons to earn the win. Bell was the shooting star, going 4-of-6 from long range while setting a new career high in scoring for the second straight game. (She scored 20 in Vanderbilt’s win over Air Force on Monday). Vanderbilt shot 58 percent from the floor, and had nine players reach the scoring column. Gaffney finished with a team-high five rebounds for Vanderbilt, and Minta Spears had six assists.
ALL-TIME SERIES RESULTS: VANDERBILT vs. ETSU
Season: Winning Team, Score (Site)
1979-80: ETSU, 72-69 (Nashville)
1980-81: ETSU, 79-69 (Johnson City, Tenn.)
1981-82: Vanderbilt, 61-58 (Nashville)
2008-09: Vanderbilt, 66-55(Johnson City, Tenn.)
2009-10: Vanderbilt, 96-83 (Nashville)
2013-14: Vanderbilt, 92-71 (Nashville)