NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Graduate guard Marnelle Garraud scored 16 points to lead four players in double figures as Vanderbilt remained undefeated with an 84-48 victory over Tarleton State on Tuesday afternoon in front of a crowd of 2,663 at Memorial Gymnasium.
Garraud finished 6 for 12 from the field, including 4 of 7 from the 3-point line, as Vanderbilt improved to 4-0 for the first time since the Commodores won their first five games of the season in 2014-15.
Sophomore forward Sacha Washington scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds for Vandy.
Freshmen Ryanne Allen and Amauri Williams each finished with 13 points. All nine players in Vandy’s lineup scored points and played at least 12 minutes.
In the first meeting between the programs, Vanderbilt shot 55 percent from the field (32 of 58) and outscored Tarleton State 46-10 in the paint. The Dores forced 22 turnovers and converted them into 33 points.
It was Education Day at Memorial Gymnasium and Vandy gave the large contingent of school-aged kids in attendance plenty of reasons to squeal with delight.
The Dores went inside to Washington early to set the tone and exploit their size advantage. The 6-foot-2 Georgia native scored the first seven points to give Vandy a lead it would never surrender.
The Dores held Tarleton State (2-1) without a point for the first five minutes of the game in jumping out to a 9-0 lead.
After the Texans made a small run to narrow the deficit to three points, Allen got hot. She sparked a 12-2 run by scoring 10 points, including two 3-pointers, to give Vandy a 25-12 lead.
The Dores entered halftime with a 33-18 advantage and didn’t let up in the second half. Vandy scored from inside and out, leading by as much as 38 points near the end of the fourth quarter.
Although Ciaja Harbison scored only six points, she filled up the stat sheet in other ways. The graduate guard had game highs of seven assists and four steals while tying for the game high with six rebounds.
Milestone Approaching: Garraud is just five points away from reaching 1,000 for her career. The graduate transfer scored 944 points in her four years at Boston College. She has 51 through her first four games in a Vanderbilt uniform.
SEC Honors: Harbison was honored Tuesday as the SEC Co-Player of the Week. In her first week ever eligible for the award, the graduate transfer (Saint Louis) was the only SEC student-athlete to average more than 20 points and 5.0 assists per game in the opening week of the season. The Louisville native scored 28 and 27 points in road wins over Western Kentucky and Columbia, respectively.
Harbison finished the week averaging 20.7 points, 6.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game while shooting 61.3 percent (19 of 31) from the field and 80.8 percent (21 of 26) from the free throw line.
Up Next: Vandy hosts Austin Peay on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network+) at Memorial Gymnasium.
Tickets: Students will continue to receive free admission to all home basketball games. In addition, single-game sales, mini-plans and group ticket options are available. To view the promotional schedule, click here.
