NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 24-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team had its nine-game winning streak come to an end Sunday at Memorial Gymnasium, as the Commodores fell to Missouri, 65-63, in SEC action.
Freshman Khamil Pierre recorded the first double-double of her Vanderbilt career, as the 6-2 forward scored a team-high 16 points and pulled down a game-best 12 rebounds in 22 minutes of action off the bench. She is the first Vanderbilt freshman to record a double-double since Sacha Washington’s 12-point, 10-rebound effort back on March 2, 2022, in the first-round win over Texas A&M at the 2022 SEC Tournament.
The loss to Missouri brings Vanderbilt’s nine-game winning streak to an end, as the Commodores now stand at 16-2 overall this season and 3-1 in SEC play.
Pierre was one of two Vandy players to record double-digit points against Missouri, as graduate student Jordyn Cambridge tallied 12 points in the loss. Junior Sacha Washington scored nine points and pulled down seven rebounds against the Tigers, while graduate student Jordyn Oliver had eight points.
The Commodores shot 37.9 percent from the field on Sunday, while Missouri connected on 45.5 percent of its shots. Pierre’s performance helped Vanderbilt hold a 21-11 edge in points off the bench. The Dores also outrebounded the Tigers, 44-28, as Vanderbilt only allowed one Missouri offensive board during the contest.
A layup by Pierre gave the Commodores a 12-point lead at 52-40 with a minute left to play in the third quarter. Missouri ended the third stanza with four-straight points, then went on to score 11 of the first 12 points in the fourth quarter to take a 55-53 lead with 5:32 left to play.
The Commodores pulled even with the Tigers at 58-all after a layup from Oliver at the 3:51 mark of the fourth. Missouri rolled off five-consecutive points after Oliver’s layup to reclaim a 63-58 advantage. The Commodores would make it a one-possession game after junior Iyana Moore’s 3-pointer pulled the Dores to within two points at 65-63 with 35 seconds left to play.
After Moore’s 3-point field goal, Vanderbilt committed a pair of fouls to attempt to put Missouri into the bonus. With eight seconds left to play, the Commodores stole the Tigers’ inbound pass at midcourt and headed toward their basket. Vanderbilt would miss the game-tying layup in transition and Missouri grabbed the rebound to hand the Commodores their first SEC loss of the season.
Head Coach Shea Ralph on the Result
“First of all, I want to give a lot of credit to Missouri. They are very well-coached, they play very hard, and they are a smart basketball team. Hats off to them, they really earned the victory. There are things I am proud of and things that I’m not. I think today it is important to look at what we didn’t do correctly, where we missed in terms of sticking to our principles, and how we can rebound from this and be better. There are some things to take from today where I feel like our team will really grow. One of the best teachers you have is failing. I love to win, but we haven’t failed a lot this year. I’m disappointed we didn’t protect our home floor and I’m disappointed we lost a game, but it’s over. We have to look forward and use this loss and make sure our team rebounds and gets better.”
Up Next
The Commodores continue their brief two-game SEC homestand Thursday, as Vanderbilt welcomes Auburn into Memorial Gymnasium. Tipoff against the Tigers is set for 6:30 p.m. and will air live on SEC Network+.
Dore Notes
- Khamil Pierre scored 16 points and pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds to record the first double-double of her Vanderbilt career
- Pierre’s double-double marks the time a Vanderbilt freshman has registered a double-double since March 3, 2022, when Sacha Washington had a 12-point, 10-rebound effort against Texas A&M in the first round of the 2022 SEC Tournament
- Pierre’s 16 points vs. Missouri mark the first time the forward has scored double-digit points in back-to-back games in her Vanderbilt career, as she also scored 16 points at Kentucky in her last outing
- Junior Iyanna Moore dished five assists in today’s game, marking her second-consecutive game with at least five assists
- Junior Sacha Washington added two blocks, marking the fifth consecutive game with at least one block
- Vanderbilt’s bench added 21 marking the eighth game this season with at least 20 points
- The Commodores outrebounded Missouri 44-28, marking the largest rebound margin (+16) since Nov. 15 against Western Kentucky (+21)
- The Commodores have now dropped eight-straight games to Missouri
- Vanderbilt falls to 4-10 all-time against Missouri
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