NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt senior Chelsie Hall became the newest member of the program’s 1,000-point club Sunday at Memorial Gymnasium, but the Commodores fell to visiting Alabama 80-56 in the SEC opener for Vandy.
Vanderbilt, which had not played since Dec. 20 and had only eight student-athletes available for Sunday’s contest, held a first-quarter lead before the Crimson Tide (10-1, 3-1 SEC) took control.
Hall (1,007) finished with 14 points and is now 37th on the program’s all-time scoring list behind Rhonda Blades (1,015) in 36th. Brylee Bartram added a team-high 15 for Vandy in the loss.
The Commodores (4-2, 0-1 SEC) are next scheduled to host South Carolina (7-1, 2-0 SEC) at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The newest member of the 1⃣0⃣0⃣0⃣ point club.
Congratulations on a momentous accomplishment, @chelsnation12. #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/KPcb3f6Kgk
— Vanderbilt WBB (@VandyWBB) January 10, 2021
Vanderbilt got off to a slow start Sunday with just one field goal and four turnovers in the first 4 1/2 minutes. But a pick-and-roll by Hall to Yaubryon Chambers got the Commodores back within 7-4 and that was followed by a Bartram 3 on the right wing tying the score at 7-all.
Enna Pehadzic’s jumper with 3:55 to go in the first quarter put Vandy ahead 9-7, but Alabama responded with a 16-2 run to end the quarter. The Crimson Tide went 6 of 12 from long range in the first 10 minutes.
Alabama, now 5-0 on the road this season, kept coming in the second quarter and eventually took a 20-point lead at 37-17 on Jasmine Walker’s layup with 5:04 left in the half.
With 2:08 left in the second quarter, Hall cut down the left side of the lane for a layup, a bucket that gave the senior 1,000 points for her career. The Boca Raton, Florida, product became the 38th member of the 1,000-point club for Vanderbilt.
Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide took a 43-26 lead into the break after shooting 50 percent and 47.4 percent from distance. Vandy was held to a 9 of 33 clip from the floor and turned the ball over 10 times.
Alabama led by as many as 29 in the third quarter before the Dores went on a 15-0 run to make it 55-41 with 1:28 left in the third frame. The Tide stretched the margin back out to 59-42 going into the fourth and Vandy didn’t have another comeback left in the tank.
Walker led Alabama with 25.
