Feb. 21, 2017
Teams: Vanderbilt (13-14, 3-11) vs. Arkansas (13-14, 2-12)
Day, Date: Thursday, Feb. 23
Tip-off time: 7 p.m. CT
Site: Nashville, Tenn. (Memorial Gym)
Radio: WNSR 560 AM / 95.9 FM
TV: SEC Network-Plus
Broadcasters: Kevin Ingram (pxp), Jessica Holman (analyst)
All-time series: Vanderbilt leads, 23-8
Game Notes: Vanderbilt Game Notes (Ark.) 
As they head into their final home game of the season, the Vanderbilt women seem to have galvanized at just the right time. The Commodores (13-14, 3-11), who are fighting for a bid to the WNIT, have won two of their past three games and have posted a 3-1 record on their home floor since Jan. 26, including an 85-67 win over Ole Miss on Sunday. They’ll look to continue that positive trend on Thursday, when they host Arkansas (13-14, 2-12), which has lost eight straight games, on Senior Night at Memorial Gym. Vanderbilt will be looking to split the season series with Arkansas after dropping a 59-56 heartbreaker to the Hogs on Jan. 19 in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks have gone winless since that game, and the Commodores are currently one game ahead of last-place Arkansas in the SEC standings. Here’s a closer look at Thursday’s game:
l Senior Night: Thursday will likely be an emotional night for Minta Spears and Marqu’es Webb, who are playing their final regular-season game at Memorial Gym. The two seniors have each left lasting impressions on the Vanderbilt program and they have both overcome multiple injuries to do so. … Webb has been a four-year starter for the Commodores and has compiled more than 850 points and 650 rebounds in her career. She was a Second Team All-SEC preseason selection this season, and ranks sixth among active players in the SEC in career rebounds. Off the court, Webb was elected by her peers as the Chair of the SEC’s first-ever Leadership Council. … Spears, who transferred to Vanderbilt as a graduate student prior to her junior season, has been a two-year starter for the Commodores. She ranked among the SEC leaders last season in assists and minutes played, but was sidelined for much of this season while recovering from knee surgery. She has returned to the starting lineup for the past nine games, and has compiled 33 assists — compared to just 10 turnovers — during that stretch.
l Make-a-Wish: The Commodores have teamed up with Papa John’s this season to support the Make-A-Wish foundation — and at halftime of Thursday’s game, the culmination of the partnership will be revealed. Papa John’s — which made a $100 donation to the Make-A-Wish foundation each time the Commodores made a 3-pointer at home this season — will present a check to the Make-A-Wish foundation, and head coach Stephanie White will then present a second check that will match the other. “We are truly honored to have the opportunity to support the Make-A-Wish foundation,” said head coach Stephanie White. “Our coaches and players know that we can make an impact in ways that are bigger than basketball, and teaming up with Make-A-Wish is a perfect example of that.”
l Outside shot: With two regular-season games remaining, the Commodores are in 13th place in the 14-team SEC. They need to climb four spots in order to avoid playing on the opening day of the SEC Tournament for the third consecutive season. (The bottom four teams in the standings will be in action in the first round of next week’s tourney in Greenville, S.C.) Making such a move is still a mathematical possibility, although Vanderbilt will need to win its final two games — and get some outside help — for that to happen. … Producing a strong finish, coupled with making some noise in the SEC Tournament, would put the Commodores in position to perhaps earn a bid to the WNIT, which would represent Vanderbilt’s first postseason berth since 2013-14.
l Update on the ‘Dores: Here’s the latest scoop on the Commodores as they head into Thursday’s game:
* The Commodores are looking to build on the momentum they gained with Sunday’s 85-67 victory over Ole Miss. The win was fueled by four freshmen, who combined for 63 points and 25 rebounds. Erin Whalen scored a career-high 24 points, Kaleigh Clemons-Green added a career-high 16, Kayla Overbeck compiled her team-leading seventh double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and LeaLea Carter had 13 points and six rebounds.
* Vanderbilt has been one of the most accurate and most prolific 3-point shooting teams in the country throughout the season. The Commodores are ranked No. 3 in the nation in 3-point percentage at 39.5 percent and are averaging an SEC-best 7.2 three-pointers per game. Vanderbilt finished 7-of-16 from long range against Ole Miss.
* The Commodores have been visiting the foul line with great frequency this season, ranking ninth in the nation in free throws made (425) and 21st in free throws attempted (566). In Sunday’s win over Ole Miss, the Commodores set new season highs for free throws made (34) and free throws attempted (41). Vanderbilt has converted 86 free throws over the past four games (an average of 21 per game) and has attempted 111 free throws (27.7 per game) in that stretch.
* Vanderbilt’s touted freshmen class — Kayla Overbeck, Kaleigh Clemons-Green, LeaLea Carter, Cierra Walker, and Erin Whalen — is combining for 33.5 points, 16.7 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game. They have accounted for 48.1 percent of Vanderbilt’s scoring, 42.3 percent of VU’s rebounds and 52.4 percent of the team’s assists. The numbers would likely be even higher if it weren’t for an injury to Cierra Walker that has caused her to be sidelined for much of the past month.
l Smarter Carter: Vanderbilt freshman LeaLea Carter has been aggressively going to be the basket in recent games — and the result has been a noticeable uptick in her trips to the foul line. Carter has attempted 30 free throws in the past four games (an average of 7.5 per game) after attempting a total of just 19 free throws in the previous 10 games (an average of 1.9 attempts per game). Carter has taken 20 free throws in the past two games alone, going 6-of-10 against Ole Miss and 7-of-10 against South Carolina. Carter is shooting 62 percent from the line for the season (45-of-72).
l Scouting Arkansas: The Razorbacks have dropped eight straight games since beating Vanderbilt 59-56 on Jan. 19. Four of the eight losses have been decided by seven points or less, including a three-point loss to Georgia and a four-point loss at Florida. … Arkansas is led in scoring by Jessica Jackson, who is averaging 15.0 points per game. She is the lone Razorback averaging double figures. Jackson also leads the team in rebounds (6.1 per game) … Arkansas guard Malica Monk ranks third in the SEC in steals per game (2.2). … The Razorbacks are fourth in the conference in defense, allowing just 59.5 points per game, but rank 12th in the SEC in scoring (64.3 ppg).
l Series History: Thursday’s game will be the 32nd all-time meeting between the teams. Vanderbilt owns a 23-8 lead in the series, including a 12-1 mark at Memorial Gym. … This will be the second matchup between the teams this season, with Arkansas posting a 59-56 victory on Jan. 19 in Fayetteville (more on that game below). … Vanderbilt has won nine straight against Arkansas in Nashville, with the Razorbacks’ most recent win being a 68-64 victory on Jan. 21, 2001.
l Erin Emerging: Erin Whalen has been doing some big things for the Commodores in the past few weeks. The 6-1 freshman scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting in Sunday’s win over Ole Miss and has averaged 12.1 points and 4.0 rebounds over the past nine games after averaging only 1.4 points and 0.8 rebounds in the first five SEC games. Making her first career start against Alabama (1/26), she scored a game-high 22 points to fuel Vanderbilt’s 87-80 win. Whalen is shooting 41.7 percent from long range for the season.
l Walker slowed by injuries: Freshmen Cierra Walker continues to be slowed by stress reactions in both of her feet. She dressed out but did not play in Sunday’s win over Ole Miss, and has now missed seven of the past nine games. Walker has logged just 15 minutes of playing time since Jan. 19 — she played 13 minutes against Kentucky on Feb. 5 and two minutes against LSU on Feb. 13. The injuries have interrupted a fine freshman season for Walker, who is averaging 3.1 assists per game and has an impressive assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.3.
l Star Power: The Commodores rank among the best in the SEC and the best in the nation in numerous categories, both collectively and individually:
* The Commodores are ranked No. 3 in the nation in 3-point percentage at 39.5 percent and are averaging an SEC-best 7.2 three-pointers per game.
* Vanderbilt is fourth in the SEC in free throw percentage at 75.1.
* The Commodores lead the SEC in 3-pointers made per game (7.2) and total 3-pointers made (195).
* The Commodores are ninth in the country in free throws made (425). * Senior post player Marqu’es Webb ranks fifth in the SEC in rebounds per game at 9.1. She is fourth in the SEC in offensive rebounds (3.3 per game) and also ranks sixth on the conference’s career rebounding list among active players with 676.
* Freshman Kayla Overbeck ranks ninth in the conference in rebounds per game at 7.4.
* VU has three players who rank among the SEC’s top-10 in career 3-pointers: Rebekah Dahlman (seventh with 127), Christa Reed (tied for eighth with 107) and Rachel Bell (ninth with 106).
l Challenging stretch: Vanderbilt’s game against No. 6 South Carolina last Thursday night marked the third time in four games that the Commodores had faced a team ranked in the AP poll, including two match-ups against Top 10 teams. All three of the games were on the road. … The stretch started with the Commodores falling to then-No. 25 Kentucky 71-63 on Feb. 5, followed by an 86-41 loss to No. 4 Mississippi State on Feb. 9 and an 82-51 loss to the sixth-ranked Gamecocks on Thursday night. … The challenging slate was a new trend for the Commodores, who didn’t face any ranked teams in the entire month of January. In fact, prior to the game against Kentucky, the Commodores had gone 10 straight games — spanning 44 days (from Dec. 22 to Feb. 4) — without meeting a ranked opponent. … For the season, the Commodores are 0-5 against ranked opponents, with losses to Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky, Mississippi State and South Carolina.
l Last Time Out: Freshman Erin Whalen scored a career-high 24 points and fellow freshman Kaleigh Clemons-Green added a career-high 16 to lead the Commodores to an 85-67 victory over Ole Miss on Sunday afternoon at Memorial Gym. Kayla Overbeck recorded her team-leading seventh double-double, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and LeaLea Carter had 13 points and six rebounds while helping Vanderbilt win for the third time in the past four home games. Together, the four Vanderbilt freshmen combined for 63 points and 25 rebounds. Leading 58-56 at the end of the third quarter, the Commodores reeled off 13 straight points to open the fourth period, and they sailed home from there. Vanderbilt has now won 18 consecutive games against Ole Miss at Memorial Gym, with the Rebels going winless on Vanderbilt’s home floor since 1987. Ole Miss had four players foul out during the physical game, which saw the teams combined for 55 fouls, including 34 by the Rebels. Vanderbilt finished 34-of-41 from the foul line.
l Most recent game vs. Arkansas (Jan. 19, 2017): Continuing a theme of last-minute losses, the Commodores fell to Arkansas, 59-56, in Fayetteville. It was Vanderbilt’s eighth consecutive loss, and dropped the Commodores to 0-6 in the SEC. Vanderbilt owned a 56-53 lead after a layup by Marqu’es Webb with 2:58 remaining, but the Commodores went scoreless the rest of the way, and Arkansas (13-6, 2-4) closed the game on a 6-0 run to steal the win. Malica Monk made 1-of-2 free throws with 10.2 seconds remaining to give the Razorbacks a 57-56 lead. The Commodores then came up empty on their ensuing possession, and Arkansas’ Devin Cosper hit two more free throws with four seconds to play to extend the Razorbacks’ lead to 59-56. On Vanderbilt’s final possession, Rachel Bell’s desperation 3-point attempt was off the mark as the buzzer sounded. Jailyn Mason finished with a game-high 17 points for Arkansas, and Devin Cosper had 11. Marqu’es Webb had a double-double for Vanderbilt, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Christa Reed had 12 points, and Bell added 11 for the Commodores, who led 48-41 at the end of the third quarter.
l Up next: The Commodores close the regular season on Sunday, visiting LSU.