Nov. 16, 2017
Vanderbilt at Tulane
Friday Nov. 17, 2017
New Orleans, La. (Devlin Fieldhouse)Vanderbilt Game Notes | Livestats | Live Stream ($)
Starting Five
1. The “road warrior” Commodores are back on the road this week when they travel to the Big Easy to take on Tulane at 12 pm on Friday. This will be the second consecutive season the Commodores and Green Wave have met and will be Vanderbilt’s first-ever trip to New Orleans and historic Devlin Fieldhouse. Friday’s game is also Tulane’s Educational Game and features an 12 pm tipoff.
2.Vanderbilt is coming off a 92-75 road loss to Central Michigan on Tuesday night. Senior guard Rachel Bell led the offense with 15 points while Chelsie Hall and Cierra Walker each added 11 points. Autumn Newby, who made her collegiate debut and was in the starting lineup, led the way on the glass with a team-best eight rebounds – a season high for a Commodore player
3.Freshman Autumn Newby made her collegiate debut at Central Michigan. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native saw 27 minutes of action and added a team-best eight rebounds to go along with eight points. Newby’s eight rebounds is the most for a freshman in their collegiate debut since Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau had 11 in her debut in 2014-15 against Belmont.
4.Rachel Bell moved closer to 1,000 points with her 15 points at Central Michigan. The Cumberland Furnace, Tenn., native sits just 150 points from the 1K milestone. Bell is leading the Commodore offense with 12.0 points per game and if her average holds Bell could hit the mark as early as the Lipscomb game on Dec. 28. Classmate Christa Reed is also nearing 1,000 points and needs just 247 to reach the mark this season. Should both seniors reach the mark, it will be the first time since the 2012-13 season in which two or more players have hit the milestone.
5. Vanderbilt is in the midst of a stretch of seven road games in their next 10 games. The Central Michigan game was the first of six road or neutral site games out of the next seven. IN total, the Commodores will travel over 2,000 miles in the first month of the season with its 665-mile trip to Washington, D.C., being the longest trip of the first month of the season.
Setting the Scene
-The Commodores are back on the road on Friday when they travel to Nawlins’ take on Tulane in an afternoon matinee at 12 pm. Both teams enter the game looking for a win as both have dropped their last two contests.
Last Time Out
-Vanderbilt dropped its road opener at Central Michigan on Tuesday. Rachel Bell led the offense with 15 points for her first game in double digits this season and her 41st career game in double figures. Autumn Newby led the defense with a team-best eight rebounds.
-The Commodores shot a season-best 51.5 (17-of-33) percent in the second half at Central Michigan and were able to hold the Chippewa’s to 26.3 percent (5-of-19) in the second quarter.
-The meeting was the first-ever meeting between Vanderbilt and Central Michigan. The Commodores will also face Ball State out of the MAC this season.
Scouting Report
-Tulane is looking to snap a two-game losing streak as they have dropped back-to-back contests to Dayton in the championship at of the Maine Tip-Off Championship and a road game at Southern Mississippi on Tuesday night.
-Kolby Morgan is leading the offense and is averaging 21.0 points per game through three games. Meredith Schulte is also in double figures with 11.0 points per game. Harlyn Waytt leads the way on the glass with 5.7 rebounds per game.
-Tulane is coming off an 18-15 season in 2016-17 and an appearance in the third round of the WNIT. SEC foe Alabama ended the Green Wave’s season with a 72-64 loss in Tuscaloosa.
With A Win
-The Commodores will move to 1-2 on the season and snap the current two-game skid. It would also be the first road win for Vanderbilt since an 80-72 win over ETSU on Dec. 8, 2016.
-Would prevent the Commodores from opening a season 0-3 – something that hasn’t been done in the 41-year history of the program.