Vanderbilt (20-8, 7-7 SEC) at Missouri (11-16, 2-12 SEC)
Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 • 7 p.m. CT
Mizzou Arena • Columbia, Mo. • SEC Network+
94.9 The Fan • Vanderbilt Athletics App • Live Stats • Game Notes
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Vanderbilt women’s basketball is set to play its final road game of the 2023-24 season on Thursday, as the Commodores travel to the Show Me State to take on Missouri. Tipoff against the Tigers is set for 7 p.m. from Mizzou Arena and will stream live on SEC Network+.
Starting Five
>> Vanderbilt heads to the heart of the Show Me State sporting a 20-8 overall record, while the Commodores are an even 7-7 in SEC play. The Dores are coming off a 62-53 win at Arkansas this past Sunday. Graduate student Jordyn Oliver scored a team-high 12 points off the bench to lead a trio of double-digit scorers for Vandy.
>> Thursday’s matchup will be the 14th meeting between Vanderbilt and Missouri. The Tigers hold the 10-3 series lead and have won eight-straight games against the Commodores. Vandy is 1-4 all-time at Mizzou Arena. Vanderbilt’s last win over Missouri came back on Feb. 28, 2016, when the Dores picked up a 56-52 victory in Columbia.
>> The Dores are 9-3 away from Memorial Gymnasium this season. Vanderbilt is 7-3 in true road games and 2-0 in natural site contests. The Commodores are 5-2 in SEC road games this season. The five SEC road wins are the most road conference games that Vanderbilt has won since the 2010-11 season.
>> Vanderbilt posted its first 20-win season in 11 seasons by picking up a victory at Arkansas last Sunday. It is the 28th time in program history that Vandy has won 20 or more games in a season. The Commodores will be looking to win 21 games in a season for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign.
>> Vandy heads into Thursday’s contest looking to extend its three-game winning streak on the road. The Commodores have won three straight SEC road games at Georgia (61-55), at Texas (49-45), and at Arkansas (62-53). Vanderbilt comes into Missouri attempting to win its fourth-consecutive SEC road games for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign.
Game Coverage
Thursday’s contest will stream live at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+. Fans can listen to the game on the Vanderbilt Commodores app or on 94.9 The Fan in the Nashville area.
NET Ranking
Vanderbilt holds a NET ranking of 58 coming into Thursday’s game. The Commodores have the ninth-best NET ranking in the SEC entering conference play. The NET is an evaluation tool used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee to determine seeding and at-large bids.
A Tangible Improvement
Vanderbilt’s 20 wins this season marks an eight-win improvement from last year’s win total of 12. That is tied for the second-largest improvement in win total from year-to-year in program history. It is the fourth time in program history that the Commodores have had an eight-win improvement from one season to the next. The most recent occurrence took place during the 1999-00 season’s 21-win campaign. The largest improvement in wins from one season to the next in program history is 11, which came during the 1983-84 team’s 23-win campaign.
Going for Win No. 21
Vanderbilt comes into Sunday’s game with 20 wins on the year. That is the most wins in a season for the Commodores under third-year Shea Ralph, while it is the 28th time in program history that Vanderbilt has won 20 games in a season. The last time came during the 2012-13 campaign when the Dores collected 21 wins. The Commodores go into Columbia, Missouri looking to match the 2012-13 team’s win total.
Moving Up the Steals List
Jordyn Cambridge’s 332 career steals are the second-most in program history. The guard needs seven more steals to move past Deborah Denton (338; 1986-89) for first on the list.
Closing in on 1,000 Career Points
Graduate student Jordyn Cambridge needs nine more points to join Vanderbilt’s 1,000-point club. The sixth-year player has currently scored 991 points over 115 games as a Commodore. When she hits the mark, Cambridge will become the 40th Vanderbilt women’s basketball player to score 1,000 career points.
Picking Their Pockets
Vanderbilt is third in the SEC in steals per game at 10.2. Vandy’s 10.2 steals per game average is also 42nd-best nationally. Graduate student Jordyn Cambridge paces the SEC in steals with 98. Cambridge’s 98 total steals are third-most in NCAA Division I this season.
Moore Production in SEC Play
Junior Iyana Moore is averaging 17.1 points per game in SEC play and is the eighth-best scoring average in conference games this season. Her career-high 37 points scored at Kentucky on Jan. 11 are the most points scored in an SEC game this season. The guard has also scored double-digit points in eight of her last 10 games.
Shooting Efficiency
Graduate student Jordyn Oliver is shooting 58.3% (63-of-108) from the field this season, which would be the second-best in the SEC if she had enough shot attempts to qualify. The Prosper, Texas, native is coming off a 12-points at Arkansas. Oliver’s 12 points off the bench against the Razorbacks are the most she has scored in an SEC game.
Scouting the Tigers
Missouri comes into Thursday’s matchup looking to snap a nine-game losing streak that has seen the Tigers’ overall record drop to 11-16 on the year. Mizzou is 2-12 in SEC play, though one of those two wins came against Vanderbilt, as the Tigers picked up a 65-63 win over the Dores in Memorial Gymnasium back on Jan. 14. Missouri currently holds a NET ranking of 80.
Senior Hayley Frank leads the Tigers in scoring at 16.8 points per contest. The 6-1 forward scored 17 points and hit five 3-pointers against the Commodores back on Jan. 14. Frank is one of four Missouri players to average double-digit points. Sophomore Ashton Judd puts up 13.0 points per contest and pulls down a team-high 6.52 caroms. Freshman Grace Slaughter is putting up 11.6 points per game and is shooting 37.9 percent from behind the arc. Senior Mama Dembele rounds out the quartet with her 10.0 points per game.
As a team, Missouri is averaging 70.5 points per game, while the Tigers are shooting 44.3 points per game. Mizzou is also shooting 35.8 percent as a team on 3-point field goals. Defensively, Missouri is allowing 70.6 points per contest. Teams are shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from behind the arc against the Tigers.
Follow Us
For more information and exclusive content on the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team, follow @VandyWBB on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X.
