COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team dropped a 91-74 contest at No. 1-ranked South Carolina in SEC action on Sunday.
Freshman Aga Makurat was a spark off the bench for the Commodores, as she matched her career-high scoring performance with 18 points against South Carolina. The guard from Sierakowice, Poland sank four 3-pointers against the Gamecocks, as she scored double-digit points against an SEC opponent for the first time in her career.
Makurat was one of four Dores to score double-figure points against the top-ranked team in the nation. Junior Sacha Washington matched Makurat with an 18-point outing. Both Makurat and Washington each grabbed a team-best seven rebounds in the loss. Graduate student Jordyn Cambridge tallied 14 points and dished out a game-high eight assists. Junior Iyana Moore rounded out Vandy’s quartet of double-digit scorers with a 13-point performance at South Carolina.
The loss drops Vanderbilt’s overall record to 17-4 overall and 4-3 in SEC games. Meanwhile, South Carolina remains the only undefeated team left in NCAA Division I, as the Gamecocks improve to 19-0 overall and 7-0 in league play.
Vanderbilt shot 40.3 percent from the floor in the loss against USC. The Dores sank eight 3-pointers, led by Makurat’s four trifectas. South Carolina outrebounded the Commodores 37-35, though the Dores held a 15-14 advantage over the Gamecocks in offensive boards.
The two teams traded blows in the first quarter, as the opening stanza featured a total of 10 lead changes and four ties. Sophomore Justine Pissott gave the Dores their first lead of the contest with a 3-pointer at the 7:02 mark that made it a 7-6 contest. After a South Carolina bucket, Cambridge sank her first trifecta of the afternoon to give Vandy a 12-10 advantage. Back-to-back baskets from Makurat gave the Commodores a 17-16 lead with 1:18 remaining in the quarter. South Carolina would get a bucket just as the quarter buzzer sounded to give the Gamecocks an 18-17 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Makurat drilled another 3-pointer to open the second quarter and put Vanderbilt back on top at 20-18. A 17-4 run by South Carolina midway through the frame gave the Gamecocks a 12-point lead at 37-25 with a minute left to play before halftime. Vanderbilt’s deficit remained at 12 points going into the locker room, as the Commodores trailed 42-30.
The Commodores got back to within single digits of the Gamecocks in the opening stages of the third quarter, as Vanderbilt went on a 6-2 spurt to open the frame. South Carolina responded with a 14-2 run that gave the Gamecocks a double-digit lead at 58-38 at the 4-minute mark of the third quarter. South Carolina held a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the contest, as the Commodores walked out of Colonial Life Arena with a 91-74 defeat.
Head Coach Shea Ralph on the Result
“South Carolina is a really good team, and what separates them this year is their ability to shoot the ball. In the big moments where we needed to lock down on defense and make them miss a shot, but they would make it. We were right there. We were down eight, then we closed it a little bit, and then we went down 11 points. That’s a sign of a well-coached, veteran team. I am proud of my team with how they fought today. We matched their intensity for most of the game. We talked about being physical with them coming in today and I think we did that. We are trying to lay the foundation so that we can be competitive in any game we play. For the most part, I thought we were competitive with them today.”
Up Next
The Commodores return to Memorial Gymnasium Thursday, as Vanderbilt will welcome in Ole Miss. Tipoff against the Lady Rebels is set for 6:30 p.m. and will stream live on SEC Network+.
Dore Notes
- The 17-4 start by the Commodores this season is tied for the third-best start through 21 games in program history, matching the 1986-87 and 2006-07 Vanderbilt teams
- Sacha Washington’s 18 points at South Carolina is her 10th game this season scoring double-digit points, while it is her first double-figure scoring performance since her 12-point outing against Radford on Dec. 31
- Aga Makurat’s 18-point outing at South Carolina marks the first time she has scored double-digits against an SEC team
- Makurat’s 18 points match her career best in scoring, as she also had 18 points against Western Kentucky on Nov. 15
- Jordyn Cambridge registered double-digit points for a team-best 16th time this season
- Cambridge’s eight assists are the most for her in a game since her 12-assist outing at Kentucky back on Jan. 11
- Iyana Moore extends her double-digit scoring streak to three games with a 13-point outing against the Gamecocks
- Moore has now scored double-digit points in six of the seven SEC games she has played in this season, while it is the 13th time that Moore has scored 10-plus points this season
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