Athens, Ga. – Freshman Khamil Pierre scored a career-high 28 points, while junior Sacha Washington posted a double-double as the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team collected a 61-55 victory at Stegeman Coliseum.
Pierre was a force to be reckoned with all afternoon. The Queen Creek, Arizona, native shot 75 percent from the floor, connecting on 12 of her 16 shot attempts against the Bulldogs. Her 28 points are tied for the third-most points scored by a Commodore this season, while it is the most points collected by a Vanderbilt freshman this season.
Meanwhile, Washington put on a show in her home state. The Lawrenceville, Georgia, native posted her sixth double-double of the season with a 10-point, 11-rebound performance. It is the second double-double for the 6-2 forward this week, as she also posted one Monday against Alabama.
With the win, Vanderbilt snapped its five-game losing streak. The Commodores improved to 18-7 on the year, while they are now 5-6 in SEC play. The Dores picked up just their ninth win ever at Stegeman Coliseum, as Vanderbilt has now won two of the last three matchups against the Bulldogs in Athens.
The Commodores shot 44.2 percent from the field while holding Georgia to 35.6 percent from the floor. Vanderbilt made its presence felt inside the lane all afternoon, as the Dores held a 36-26 advantage in points in the paint and a 37-31 edge in rebounds. The Commodores also collected 10 steals as a team in Sunday’s victory, as graduate student Jordyn Cambridge and junior Iyana Moore each were credited with a team-high three steals.
How It Happened
The Commodores and Bulldogs traded blows to open the game, as the first quarter featured six lead changes and three ties. Neither team held more than a four-point advantage over the first 10 minutes of play, as Vanderbilt held a 14-13 lead going into the second stanza.
Georgia scored the first four points of the second quarter, but the Commodores responded with a 9-0 run to give them a 23-17 advantage heading into the media timeout. The Bulldogs ended Vandy’s spurt with back-to-back buckets. Vanderbilt pushed its lead back out to five points at the end of the quarter, as the Dores held a 26-21 advantage going into halftime.
The Commodores were clinging to a one-point lead at 30-29 after a Georgia 3-pointer forced Vandy to call a timeout. Vanderbilt went on a 10-3 run out of the timeout to take a 40-32 lead after a jumper from Washington with 2:48 left in the quarter. The two teams combined to make only one field goal over the last 2:45 of the stanza, as the Commodores led 40-34 going into the fourth.
Pierre opened the fourth quarter on a personal 6-0 run to give Vanderbilt a 12-point lead at 46-34 with 7:20 left to play. Georgia would chip away at the Vandy lead throughout the quarter, as the Bulldogs pulled to within six points of the Dores at 56-50 with 42 seconds remaining. Vanderbilt was able to put the game away at the free throw line to walk out of Stegeman Coliseum with the six-point win.
Head Coach Shea Ralph on Khamil Pierre’s Performance
“Today was a big step forward for her. I’ve been really hard on her in practice, I have been since she has gotten here. She is figuring out how great she can be. We couldn’t take her off the floor today. As she gets more playing time, you’ll see all the ways she can impact the game for us. She showed a lot of that today and we needed everything she gave us today. Just really proud of her and our team’s performance today.”
Up Next
The Dores continue their two-game SEC road trip Thursday, as the Commodores head southwest to take on Texas A&M. Tipoff against the Aggies is set for 8 p.m. and will air live on SEC Network.
Dore Notes
- Vanderbilt snapped its five-game losing streak
- The Commodores also ended their two-game losing streak to the Bulldogs
- Vandy picks up its ninth win all-time in Athens and is now 9-20 all-time at Stegeman Coliseum, while the Dores are now 29-41 against Georgia all-time
- The Commodores posted their first win in Athens since Jan. 9, 2020, when Vanderbilt collected a 63-55 victory at Stegeman Coliseum
- Freshman Khamil Pierre registered a team-high 28 points at Georgia. It is the third time that she has led the Commodores in scoring this season
- Pierre’s 28 points are tied for third-most scored in a game by a Commodore this season with Jordyn Cambridge’s 28-point effort against Northern Iowa. Only Iyana Moore has scored more points in a game this season with her 37-point performance at Kentucky and her 29-point effort at Mississippi State
- Pierre’s 28-point performance marks her ninth career game with 10 or more points
- Junior Sacha Washington collected her sixth double-double of the season with a 10-point, 11-rebound performance at Georgia
- It is Washington’s second double-double of the week, as she also scored 16 points and collected 10 rebounds in Monday’s contest against Alabama.
Follow Us
For more information and exclusive content on the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team, follow @VandyWBB on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter/X.
