Feb. 25, 2017
Teams: Vanderbilt (14-14, 4-11) vs. LSU (18-10, 7-8)
Day, Date: Sunday, Feb. 26
Tip-off time: Noon CT
Site: Baton Rouge, La.
Radio: WNSR 560 AM / 95.9 FM
TV: SEC Network
Broadcasters: Melissa Lee (pxp), Tamika Catchings (analyst)
Game Notes: Vanderbilt Game Notes (LSU) 
As they head into the regular-season finale, the Vanderbilt women will be looking to extend a late-season surge that has included three wins in their past four games. The Commodores will also be seeking their first SEC road win of the season, but they’ll be traveling to a place that has been historically difficult for them: Baton Rouge, La. Vanderbilt has lost six consecutive games on LSU’s home floor — with the Commodores’ most recent victory being Feb. 19, 2004 — and have won only four times in 17 attempts overall in Baton Rouge. But at least Vanderbilt will have momentum on its side for Sunday’s game. The Commodores come into the contest having won back-to-back SEC games for the first time this season after sweeping a two-game homestand against Ole Miss and Arkansas. Here’s a closer look at Sunday’s game:
l Outside shot: With one regular-season games remaining, the Commodores need to climb four spots — from 13th to 10th — in the conference standings in order to avoid playing on the opening day of the SEC Tournament for the third consecutive season. Making such a move is still a mathematical possibility, although Vanderbilt will need to win on Sunday — and get some outside help — for it 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. Vanderbilt can earn a first-round bye in next week’s SEC Tournament if the following scenario plays out on Sunday afternoon: Losses by Alabama, Ole Miss and Florida — combined with a Vanderbilt victory — would enable the Commodores to grab the No. 10 seed for the tourney.
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’ve gained over the past two weeks. They’ve posted three wins in their past four games, including earning back-to-back wins over Ole Miss and Arkansas in their past two games. The win over Arkansas on Sunday was keyed by freshman Erin Whalen, who knocked down two decisive free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining in the Commodores’ dramatic 66-64 victory. Whalen finished with a game-high 20 points
*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. 4 in the nation in 3-point percentage at 39.3 percent and are averaging an SEC-best 7.3 three-pointers per game.
* The Commodores have been visiting the foul line with great frequency this season, ranking sixth in the nation in free throws made (445) and 15th in free throws attempted (596). Vanderbilt has converted 106 free throws over the past five games (an average of 21.2 per game) and has attempted 141 free throws (28.2 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 33.7 points, 16.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game. They have accounted for 48.5 percent of Vanderbilt’s scoring, 42.1 percent of VU’s rebounds and 52.3 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 Tough place to play: Vanderbilt has averaged just 50.7 points per game in their past six trips to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Commodores managed only 39 points — the lowest point total in team history — during a visit to Baton Rouge on Feb. 19, 2010, and they compiled just 44 points last season when they traveled to LSU.
l Explosive Erin: 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 followed that up with a 20-point effort — including making the game-winning free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining — in Thursday’s victory over Arkansas. Whalen has averaged a team-high 13.1 points and 3.9 rebounds over the past 10 games after averaging only 1.4 points and 0.8 rebounds in VU’s first five SEC games. She is shooting 92.9 percent from the foul line in the past 10 games, converting 26-of-28 attempts from the foul line. Whalen is averaging a team-best 18.3 points per game in Vanderbilt’s four SEC wins, and is shooting 50 percent from 3-point range in those four games (12-of-24). Making her first career start against Alabama (1/26), she scored a game-high 22 points to fuel Vanderbilt’s 87-80 win.
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 36 free throws in the past five games (an average of 7.2 per game) after attempting a total of just 19 free throws in the first 10 SEC games (an average of 1.9 attempts per game). Carter, who is averaging 9.0 ppg over the past five games, has taken 26 free throws in the past three games. She is shooting 61.5 percent from the line for the season (48-of-78).
l Scouting LSU: The Tigers come into Sunday’s game after back-to-back road losses to Georgia and Auburn. … LSU’s Raigyne Moncrief is having a strong season, leading the Tigers in scoring at 15.9 ppg and also in rebounding at 6.1 rpg. She leads the SEC and ranks eighth in the nation in steals per game (3.4). … LSU is averaging only 1.1 three-pointers per game, easily the lowest in the SEC. The Tigers have attempted just 132 three-pointers all season. … The Tigers rank No. 2 in the nation in total steals (351) and No. 4 in steals per game (12.5). They are forcing 20.9 turnovers per game, which ranks 11th in the country.
l Series History: Sunday’s game will be the 46th all-time meeting between the teams, with Vanderbilt owning a 26-19 lead in the series. … The series has been dominated by the home team: Vanderbilt is 15-3 against LSU in games at Memorial Gym, but the Tigers own a 13-4 edge in Baton Rouge. … The Commodores are facing the Tigers for the second time in the span of about two weeks. Vanderbilt posted a 70-68 victory over LSU on Feb. 13 in Nashville. (more on that game below). … Vanderbilt has lost six consecutive games on LSU’s home floor — with the Commodores’ most recent victory being Feb. 19, 2004. …Vanderbilt has averaged just 50.7 points per game in their past six trips to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Commodores managed only 39 points — the lowest point total in team history — during a visit to Baton Rouge on Feb. 19, 2010.
l Walker slowed by injuries: Freshmen Cierra Walker continues to be slowed by stress reactions in both of her feet. She logged just one minute of playing time in Thursday’s win over Arkansas, and has missed seven of the past 10 games. Walker has logged just 16 minutes of playing time since Jan. 19 (she played 13 minutes against Kentucky on Feb. 5 and two minutes against LSU on Feb. 13).
l Star Power: The Commodores rank among the best in the SEC in numerous categories: 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 686. … Freshman Kayla Overbeck ranks 10th 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 (eighth with 109) and Rachel Bell (10th 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: Thanks to two clutch free throws by a freshman, a pair of Vanderbilt seniors were able to celebrate a victory in their final regular-season game at Memorial Gym on Thursday night. With Vanderbilt and Arkansas locked in a 64-64 tie, freshman Erin Whalen was fouled while attempting an offensive putback under the basket with three seconds remaining. Whalen walked to the line and calmly sank both free throws, and the Commodores held on for a 66-64 victory when Arkansas was unable to get a shot off on its final possession. Whalen finished with a game-high 20 points and fellow freshman LeaLea Carter added 11 points while helping the Commodores (14-14, 4-11). The victory came on Senior Night at Memorial Gym, and the Commodores honored Marqu’es Webb and Minta Spears after the game. Webb finished with eight points and 10 rebounds, representing her 13th double-digit rebounding effort of the season. Spears had four points, three rebounds, two assists — and no turnovers — in 30 minutes of action. Aaliyah Wilson had 14 points for Arkansas, Jessica Jackson had 11 and Keiryn Swenson had 10..
l Most recent game vs. LSU (Feb. 13, 2017): Marqu’es Webb had a big night and Rebekah Dahlman hit a big shot. Together, the two Vanderbilt veterans helped send the Commodores to a 70-68 victory over LSU on Feb. 13, 2017 at Memorial Gym. Dahlman connected on a go-ahead 3-pointer from the corner with 28 seconds remaining and it proved to be the game-winner for the Commodores, who outscored LSU 20-11 in the final 10 minutes. Webb recorded a double-double with a career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds. She finished 6-of-6 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the foul line. Her final rebound of the night came after LSU’s Rina Hill missed a potential game-tying shot just before the buzzer. Raigyne Moncrief paced LSU (17-8, 6-6) with 20 points. Alexis Hyder finished with 13 points before fouling out for the Tigers. Chloe Jackson had 11 points and Ayanna Mitchell had 10. LSU went only 1-of-3 from 3-point range in the loss.
l UP NEXT: The Commodores’ next action will be in Greenville, S.C., at next week’s SEC Tournament, with the date and the opponent both still to be determined.