NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A total of three Vanderbilt women’s basketball players collected a double-double against Western Kentucky on Wednesday night, as the Commodores collected a thrilling 77-74 victory over the Hilltoppers at Memorial Gymnasium.
Graduate students Jordyn Cambridge and Jordyn Oliver, along with junior Sacha Washington each strung together a double-double on the stat sheet. Cambridge flirted with a triple-double against WKU, as she recorded a game-best 13 rebounds to go along with 11 points and eight assists. Oliver added 15 points and 10 rebounds to her ledger, while Washington posted her third-straight double-double with a 16-point, 10-rebound performance.
Freshman Aga Makurat provided an offensive punch off the bench for the Commodores. The 6-2 guard from Poland registered a career-high 18 points while hitting a season-best five 3-point fields in 16 minutes of action against the Hilltoppers.
With the win, Vanderbilt remains perfect to begin the 2023-24 season, as the Dores now stand at 4-0 on the year. It marks the second-straight season that Vandy has opened back-to-back campaigns perfect through four games. The last time Vanderbilt began two-consecutive seasons with four-straight wins came back during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 campaigns.
The two teams traded blows through the opening two quarters, as there were six lead changes in the first 20 minutes of play. Makurat gave the Commodores a 31-28 lead going into the half, as she sank a 3-point shot from the corner right before the halftime buzzer.
Vanderbilt saw its lead grow to as many as 11 points in the third quarter, as a layup from Washington put the Dores up 46-35 with 4:54 remaining in the stanza. Western Kentucky battled back and took a 53-52 advantage in the closing seconds of the third. Vandy once again ended a quarter with a buzzer-beating shot, this time coming from Cambridge, whose layup gave Vanderbilt a 54-53 lead going into the night’s final frame.
Things were just as tight in the fourth, as the two teams were knotted up at 63-all with five minutes left to play. The Commodores got back-to-back 3-pointers from junior Iyana Moore and Makurat to go up 69-63 with 4:17 left to play.
The Hilltoppers would not go quietly, as WKU pulled to within a point of Vandy at 73-72 with 39 seconds left on the clock. Vanderbilt was clutch at the free throw line down the stretch, as the Dores went 4-for-4 at the charity stripe in the closing 15 seconds to secure the three-point victory.
Coach Ralph on the Result
“Really proud of our team, it was a really gritty win to make it four (wins) in a row. At the end of the day, the plays we needed to make down the stretch, we made. The shots we needed to make, we made. The free throws, we made. We got a pretty great defensive stop at the end, which I thought was much better than the last two games. There were tons of things I thought we did really well, and there are tons of opportunities there for growth. A homecourt win makes it a great night.”
Up Next
Vanderbilt concludes its current three-game homestand this Monday, when Alabama State comes to Memorial Gymnasium. Tipoff against the Hornets is set for 1 p.m. and will stream live on SEC Network +.
Dore Notes
- Vanderbilt moves to 4-0 for the second-straight season. It is the first time in 13 seasons that Vandy has opened back-to-back campaigns with four-straight wins.
- The Commodores have now won 10-straight games against Western Kentucky, as they are now 24-12 all-time against WKU.
- Sacha Washington recorded her third-straight double-double with a 16-point, 10-rebound performance. It is Washington’s 16th career double-double.
- Jordyn Cambridge collected her second double-double of the season with a 13-rebound, 11-point outing. It is Cambridge’s seventh double-double.
- Jordyn Oliver posts her first double-double with Vanderbilt with a 15-point, 10-rebound outing. It is her third career double-double, with the first two taking place during her first two seasons at Baylor.
- Oliver’s 15 points scored against WKU tied her career-best scoring performance at the collegiate level when she scored 15 points against McNeese State in her sophomore season at Baylor.
- Vanderbilt has now had two or more players record a double-double in the same game in two of its last three contests.
- The Commodores outscored the Hilltoppers 26-2 in second chance points.
Follow Us
For more information on the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team, follow @VandyWBB on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter/X.
