Jan. 24, 2017
Teams: Vanderbilt (10-10, 0-7) vs. Alabama (15-5, 3-4)
Day, Date: Thursday , Jan. 26
Tip-off time: 8 p.m. CT
Site: Memorial Gym (Nashville, Tenn.)
Radio: WNSR 560 AM / 95.9 FM
TV: SEC Network
Game Notes: Vanderbilt Game Notes (Bama) 
January hasn’t gone well for the Vanderbilt women thus far, but they have a chance to end the month on a positive note. The Commodores (10-10, 0-7), who have lost nine straight games, close out January with back-to-back home games, hosting Alabama on Thursday and welcoming Florida to Memorial Gym on Sunday. Vanderbilt has a combined all-time record of 34-9 at Memorial Gym against those two SEC opponents, including an 18-1 mark against Alabama. Here’s a closer look at Thursday’s game:
l Update on the Commodores: Despite their current nine-game losing skid, the Commodores continue to be one of the country’s best-shooting teams from long range. They rank fourth in the nation in 3-point accuracy at 40.0 percent, and are averaging an SEC-best 7.1 three-pointers per game. … Vanderbilt enters Thursday’s game looking to rebound from Sunday’s 91-63 road loss to rival Tennessee. It was Vanderbilt’s second double-digit loss to the Lady Vols this season. … Aside from the two losses to Tennessee, the Commodores’ other five SEC defeats have been decided by a combined 21 points (an average of margin of 4.2 points). In all five of those games, Vanderbilt was either in the lead, tied or trailing by three points or less entering the final minute.
l Shoeless Stephanie: Vanderbilt head coach Stephanie White will coach barefoot during Thursday’s game to help raise awareness for Soles4Souls. White also coached barefoot during Tuesday’s practice. “Soles4Souls is such a wonderful organization, and we are excited about doing our part to promote and assist them,” said White. “My hope is that coaching barefoot will bring awareness to those who don’t have the luxury of wearing shoes every day. We want to encourage everyone to donate and support the Soles4Souls mission.” Donation boxes for Soles4Souls will be available at Thursday’s game. Soles4Souls is a not for profit global social enterprise committed to fighting poverty through the collection and distribution of shoes and clothing.
l Down in numbers: Vanderbilt has been hit with injuries and illness in recent days. Freshman Cierra Walker has missed the past two games with a foot injury, and Kaleigh Clemons-Green is still regaining her stamina after illness caused her to miss last week’s game against Missouri. (Clemons-Green returned to action for the past two games, but has played limited minutes.) The injuries/illnesses have been an obstacle since December, when Rebekah Dahlman missed two games with a hamstring issue and Marqu’es Webb was hampered by a back injury.
l The leader board: Vanderbilt is led in scoring by two players who are averaging double figures, with Rachel Bell scoring a team-high 12.0 points per game and Christa Reed averaging 10.0. … Marqu’es Webb is Vanderbilt’s top rebounder, and ranks among the SEC’s best, with 9.1 boards per game. … Since the start of SEC play, freshman Kayla Overbeck has paced the Commodores in scoring at 11.0 points per game. She is also averaging 7.6 rebounds per game in conference play, the second best mark on the team (ranking only behind Webb’s 9.7).
l Cold snap: The Commodores have been a streaky team this season in the truest sense. They ripped off a nine-game winning streak from Nov. 16 to Dec.18, and then followed that directly with their current nine-game losing streak, which started with a loss to Louisville on Dec. 21. Here’s a look at some of the contrasting numbers the Commodores have posted during the two streaks:
Points per game during winning streak: 77.2
Points per game during losing streak: 63.1
Points allowed during winning streak: 64.0
Points allowed during losing streak: 73.1
Field goal percentage during winning streak: 45.7
Field goal percentage during losing streak: 38.4
3-point percentage during winning streak: 41.2
3-point percentage during losing streak: 37.5
Free throw percentage during winning streak: 77.8
Free throw percentage during losing streak: 67.0
Average free throws made per game during win streak: 17.4
Average free throws made per game during losing streak: 13.6
l Young guns: Vanderbilt’s touted freshmen class — Kayla Overbeck, Kaleigh Clemons-Green, LeaLea Carter, Cierra Walker, and Erin Whalen — continue to shine for the Commodores, with the five-member class combining for 35.1 points, 16.7 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. The five players have accounted for 47.3 percent of Vanderbilt’s scoring, 40.0 percent of VU’s rebounds and 52.8 percent of the team’s assists. The five players are also accounting for 47.8 percent of the Commodores’ 3-pointers (making 68 of Vanderbilt’s 142 total 3s).
l Hot starts: Three of Vanderbilt’s sharpshooters — Christa Reed, Erin Whalen and Rachel Bell — have shown the ability to get rolling early. Combined, the three players are shooting 61.3 percent from 3-point range in the first quarter this season, making 27 of 44 attempts. Whalen is 6-of-8 (75 percent), Reed is 14-of-24 (58.3) and Bell is 7-of-12 (58.3). The same three players are combining to shoot 30.9 percent (13-of-42) in the second quarter, 34.1 percent (14-of-41) in the third and 33.3 percent (15-of-45) in the fourth. Vanderbilt’s Cierra Walker has followed a different pattern. She is shooting 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from 3-point range in the first quarter, 44 percent (11-of-25) in the second, 15 percent (3-of-20) in the third and 57.1 percent (8-of-14) in the fourth.
l Overbeck on a roll: Freshman forward Kayla Overbeck has quickly established herself as one of the top newcomers in the SEC. She had 13 points and eight rebounds in Sunday’s loss to Tennessee while logging a season-high 36 minutes per game and she leads Vanderbilt in scoring since the start of SEC play at 11.0 ppg. Overbeck is shooting a team-high 56.2 percent from the floor and has reached double figures in 11 games, including four of the past five. She has scored 10 or more points in five of VU’s seven conference games, and has pulled down seven or more rebounds in six of the seven games.
l Among the best: Vanderbilt ranks fourth in the nation, and leads the SEC, in 3-point accuracy at 40.0 percent. … Vanderbilt is fourth in the SEC in free throw percentage at 73.4. … The Commodores are 13th in the country in free throws made (304) and 23rd in free throws attempted (414). … Vanderbilt leads the SEC in 3-pointers made per game (7.1) and total 3-pointers made (142).
l Scouting Alabama: Alabama’s roster features Hannah Cook, who is the SEC’s most accurate and most prolific 3-point shooter. She is shooting an SEC-best 38.1 percent from behind the arc, and leads the conference in 3-pointers made (51). … Alabama is also one of the most physical teams in the SEC. The Tide leads the country in free throws attempted (through Tuesday night). They have attempted 500 for the season, averaging 25 attempts per game. They have converted 321 free throws, the fifth most in the country, but are shooting only 64 percent from the line. … Defensively, the Tide is among the best in the SEC. They are limiting teams to 26.2 percent shooting from 3-point range, which ranks 11th in the nation and second in the SEC. Alabama is surrendering just 58.8 points per game. … Meoshonti Knight is the Tide’s leading scorer at 12.5 per game. Cook is averaging 11.8 and Shaquera Wade is averaging 11.1.
l Series History: Thursday’s game will be the 46th all-time meeting between the teams, with Vanderbilt owning a 33-12 lead in the series. … Vanderbilt has won four straight match-ups against the Tide, including posting a pair of victories last season (winning 54-48 in Tuscaloosa and 67-52 in Nashville). … The Commodores own a dominating 18-1 record against Alabama at Memorial Gym. The Tide’s lone win at the historic venue came on Feb. 2, 2015, when Alabama pulled out a 66-62 victory. … Vanderbilt has won 16 of the last 17 games against Alabama and 20 of the last 22. The Commodores are 30-6 against the Tide since the start of the 1984-85 season.
l In elite company: The Commodores have several players who rank among the best in the SEC in multiple categories: Senior post player Marqu’es Webb ranks fifth in the SEC in rebounds per game at 9.1 and sixth in total rebounds (173). She is second in the SEC in offensive rebounds (3.6 per game) and also ranks seventh on the conference’s career rebounding list among active players with 613. … Freshman Cierra Walker ranks fourth in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.4 and is 14th in assists at 3.3 per game. … Kayla Overbeck ranks 11th in the conference in rebounds per game at 7.0.
l Impactful Improvements: The Commodores are on the upswing in numerous categories under the direction of first-year head coach Stephanie White. Through the first 20 games of the season, Vanderbilt is averaging 70.5 points per game after scoring just 62.5 ppg last season. The Commodores are also making an SEC-best 7.1 three-pointers per game, compared to just 5.4 last season. Vanderbilt is converting 15.2 free throws per game this season after making only 11.4 last season.
l Ringing the Bell: Vanderbilt guard Rachel Bell is thriving in the up-tempo system that has been implemented this season by first-year head coach Stephanie White. Bell, a junior, leads the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game, and has reached double figures in 14 of Vanderbilt’s 20 games, including four of past five. She scored 10 or more points in seven straight games from Nov. 20 through Dec. 8, and averaged 15.3 points per game during that stretch.
l On the radar: The Commodores were among the teams receiving votes in the Associated Press Top-25 poll for four straight weeks prior to the Jan. 2 poll. It was the first time since the preseason poll of the 2015-16 season that Vanderbilt had been in the “receiving votes” category. Vanderbilt was last ranked in the AP poll in Week 15 of the 2013-14 season, when the Commodores were No. 16.
l Last time out: The Commodores dropped their ninth straight game on Sunday, falling to Tennessee, 91-63, in Knoxville. Vanderbilt was outscored 30-12 in the first quarter and trailed 56-29 at the half. The Commodores used a late surge in the third quarter to narrow the deficit to 66-51, but the Lady Vols outscored VU 25-12 in the final 10 minutes. The Commodores fell to 0-32 all-time on the Lady Vols’ home floor. Diamond DeShields scored a game-high 23 points for UT. Freshman Erin Whalen finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists for the Commodores. Senior Marqu’es Webb had 13 points and seven rebounds, and freshman Kayla Overbeck had 12 points and eight rebounds. Vanderbilt trailed 61-33 with 7:13 remaining in the third quarter, but the Commodores closed the period with an 18-5 run to trim the margin to 66-51. But UT scored the first six points of the fourth quarter and sailed home from there.
l Last year’s games vs. Alabama: Vanderbilt swept a pair of games from Alabama last season. Christa Reed scored 15 of her game-high 17 points in the second half to help lead the Commodores to a 54-48 comeback victory in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 10, 2016. Vanderbilt trailed 36-31 at the end of the third quarter but outscored the Tide 23-12 in the final 10 minutes. Minta Spears finished with eight points, seven rebounds and four assists for Vanderbilt. … Less than three weeks later, the Commodores completed the season sweep with a 67-52 at Memorial Gym on Jan. 25, 2016. Vanderbilt used a dominating effort on the glass — and a 17-0 fourth-quarter run — to fuel the win. Rachel Bell finished with a game-high 23 points, Marqu’es Webb added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Morgan Batey had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Hannah Cook scored a team-high 13 for Alabama. The Commodores collected 24 offensive rebounds while winning the battle on the boards, 44-24. Alabama owned a 49-46 lead with 9:13 left in the game before VU responded with its 17-0 run to take command.
l Looking ahead: After Thursday’s game, the Commodores remain at home, hosting Florida on Sunday.