UConn Visits Wednesday

Inside Look: Hyped for the Huskies

Matchup
• Vanderbilt is 2-5 all-time against Connecticut. Three of those meetings have been in the NCAA Tournament with UConn holding a 2-1 advantage in March. The only previous matchup in Nashville was in the second round of the 1992 NCAA Tournament where the Commodores advanced with a 75-47 win over the Huskies.

• In the most recent meeting between these programs, No. 2 UConn won at Mohegan Sun Arena last year, 80-42. Prior to that, No. 3 UConn topped the Commodores, 91-52, at the Gulf Coast Showcase on Nov. 29, 2014. Vanderbilt’s last win over the Huskies was a 57-37 victory on Dec. 29 at the 1992 Super Shootout in Hilton Head, South Carolina—the Commodores reached the Final Four that season and finished with a school record 30 wins (30-3).

Last Time Out
Redshirt senior Mariella Fasoula’s 29 points and 11 rebounds led Vanderbilt to a decisive 80-46 win over Radford on Friday night at Memorial Gymnasium. Junior Chelsie Hall and sophomore Brinae Alexander were also in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Hall also led the team with five assists, while sophomore Jordyn Cambridge finished with a team-high four steals.

Fast Facts
• Vanderbilt is 2-0 for the first time since 2014-15 (started 5-0).

• Vanderbilt has scored 80 points in its first two games for the first time in six years (2013-14)—the last time the Commodores reached the NCAA Tournament. The Commodores defeated Appalachian State (96-53) and Western Kentucky (85-60) to start that season.

• Not a bad debut. In the season opener, sophomore guard Brinae Alexander (20 points, four steals) was the first Commodore in more than eight years to finish with 20+ points and 4+ steals in a game. The last Vanderbilt player to pull off the feat was Jence Rhoads when she went for 21 and 5 against Arkansas on March 4, 2010.

• With 13 rebounds in the season opener, junior forward Autumn Newby now has five games of 13 or more rebounds in her career. She is just the sixth Commodore since 2000 with five career 13+ rebound performances.

Commodore to Connecticut
• Current Connecticut assistant coach Jasmine Lister is a former Commodore standout. A native of Corona, Calif., Lister earned a BA degree in women’s and gender studies from Vanderbilt in 2014. She started every game of her career (129) and broke Vanderbilt’s record for minutes played (4,626). Lister was named All-SEC all four years and earned WBCA Honorable Mention All-American honors in 2014. The Commodores made the NCAA Tournament in each of her four seasons.

Home Sweet Home
• Vanderbilt opens the season with five straight games at Memorial Gymnasium.

• The Commordoes will not leave the friendly confines of the Music City for their first six games. The first road contest of the season will be at neighboring Tennessee Tech on Monday, Nov. 25.

• The first time the Commodores leave Nashville this season will be on a flight to the Bahamas. Vanderbilt will join Rutgers, Seton Hall and Georgia Tech at the Junkanoo Jam in Bimini, Nov. 28-29.

• The only other road contests for the Commodores in the nonconference season will be in Seattle, Washington. Vanderbilt will take on UC Irvine (Dec. 20) and Washington (Dec. 21) at the Husky Classic.

In the Community
• This year’s squad has placed an emphasis on volunteering in the local Nashville community. Each team member must complete 10 hours of community service this season. Those hours do not include the team mandated community events.

• Among some of the team volunteering events, the Commodores spent an afternoon at the Habitat for Humanity Restore in Nashville where they helped stock shelves and move furniture. They also volunteered on Halloween at Vanderbilt’s Trick or Treat with the Greeks where they handed out candy and provided Nashville communities and children a fun, safe space for Halloween night.

A Vandy Win Would…
… make the Commodores 3-0 for the first time since 2014-15 (started 5-0).
… mark the first win over a Top 5 team since Feb. 19, 2009 (73-70 vs. No. 3 Auburn)
… be the seventh in its last eight nonconference games at Memorial Gymnasium.
… be the first three-game winning streak since Dec. 5-18, 2016.

A Vandy Loss Would…
… be the 23rd straight against the Top 25 (last win vs. No. 24 Missouri, 56-52, Feb. 28, 2016).
… be less good than a win.

On Deck
Vanderbilt continues its five-game homestand to open the 2019-20 campaign with a Sunday matinee against St. Louis at  2 p.m. The home stint will conclude against Furman on Friday, Nov. 22 at 5:30 p.m. Both of those contests can be seen on SEC Network+. After that, its off to the Bahamas for the Junkanoo Jam, Nov. 28-30.