Feb. 13, 2016
Teams: Vanderbilt (15-9, 4-7) vs. No. 18/18 Kentucky (16-6, 5-6)
Day, Date: Sunday, Feb. 14
Tip-off time: 3 p.m.
Site: Memorial Gym (Nashville, Tenn.)
Radio: 560 AM / 95.9 FM
TV: SEC Network
VU’s last 10 games: 3-7 l VU’s current streak: Lost four straight
UK’s last 10 games: 5-5 l UT’s current streak: Won one
Game Notes: Vanderbilt Game Notes (vs. UK) 
l UK Game Notes
The Vanderbilt women will change their color scheme — and will be hoping to change their luck — on Sunday afternoon when they host No. 18/18 Kentucky at Memorial Gym. The contest has been designated as the annual Pink Out game for the Commodores (15-9, 4-7), who will be looking to end a recent slide that has seen them drop their past four games and slip into the bottom half of the SEC standings. Vanderbilt will wear special uniforms for the contest, and a variety of events are planned for the day. (More details below). It will be the second match-up between Vanderbilt and Kentucky in less than three weeks after the Commodores upset the Wildcats 71-69 in Lexington on Jan. 28. Sunday’s contest marks the second game of a five-game stretch in which the Commodores are facing teams who are currently ranked in the AP poll. The challenging stretch began with Thursday’s 69-51 loss to No. 25 Tennessee. Here’s a closer look at Sunday’s contest:
l Update on the Commodores: Despite dropping their past four games, the Commodores are still in position to make a major move toward a postseason berth if they can grab a couple of wins over the next two weeks, when they face No. 18 Kentucky, No. 16 Florida, No 15 Texas A&M and No. 11 Mississippi State in succession. … Vanderbilt currently sits in 11th place in the SEC, but the Commodores are only 1½-games behind eighth-place Missouri and two games out of fifth. … With five games remaining on the regular-season schedule, the Commodores have matched their win total from last season, when they finished 15-16 and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999. Vanderbilt is also just one SEC victory away from matching last season’s conference win total, when the Commodores finished 5-11… The Commodores’ upset of Kentucky on Jan. 28 was VU’s first road win over a ranked opponent since Dec. 16, 2012, when they won at Oklahoma.
l Fighting for a cause: Sunday’s game has been designated as this season’s “Play 4 Kay/Pink-out” game at Memorial Gym. Fans are encouraged to wear pink, and the Vanderbilt players will also be wearing special uniforms as the WBB program shows its support for the fight against cancer. Pink Out shirts will be given to the first 300 fans through the gates. For more details on the special events, click HERE.
l What’s trending for VU: Although the numbers have tapered off since the start of conference play, the Commodores are still putting together a strong statistical season on both ends of the floor. They are No. 15 in the country in field-goal percentage at 46.0 percent and ranked 18th in the nation in defense, allowing 53.8 points per game. Vanderbilt is ranked third in the conference in both of those categories … The Commodores are ranked No. 29th in the country, and second in the SEC, in 3-point accuracy at 35.7 percent. … Vanderbilt has held its opponents to less than 50 percent shooting from the floor in 23 of its 24 games this season. (South Carolina is the lone exception. The Gamecocks shot exactly 50 percent in a win over VU on Jan. 7). … The Commodores have out-rebounded their opponents in 17 of their 24 games this season.
l Star Power: Sophomore sharpshooter Christa Reed is averaging a team-high 10.6 points per game and is shooting 44.3 percent from 3-point range. Reed has been leading the SEC in 3-point accuracy for much of the season but doesn’t currently qualify to be listed among the conference leaders. (Reed is averaging 1.9 three-pointers per game; the minimum is 2.0). … Point guard Minta Spears is tied for sixth in the SEC in assists (4.4 apg) and seventh in the SEC in minutes played (32.7 mpg). … Junior Marque’s Webb is VU’s top rebounder at 5.5 per game. She is averaging 6.7 rebounds in SEC games. … Kendall Shaw has seen action in nine of Vanderbilt’s 11 SEC games, and is shooting 48 percent from the floor (12-of-25) in those games.
l Scouting the Wildcats: Kentucky, which downed LSU 70-58 on Thursday night to snap a three-game losing streak, is one of the best shooting teams in the country, especially from long range. The Wildcats are shooting an SEC-leading 36.7 percent from behind the 3-point line, which ranks 19th in the nation. They are No. 2 in the SEC and No. 14 in the country in field-goal percentage (46.0). … UK is ranked 36th in the nation in offense, scoring 73.8 points per game. But the Wildcats are ranked 75th in defense, allowing 55.9 ppg. … Kentucky star Makayla Epps is tied for third in the SEC in scoring at 17.0 points per game, and Evelyn Akhator is third in the conference in rebounding at 9.0. … Epps leads the SEC in minutes played (35.7 mpg) and is fifth in field-goal percentage (49.1). … Kentucky’s Janee Thompson is the SEC’s assist leader at 5.5 per game. … The Wildcats went 11-0 during their non-conference schedule, including a win over Duke, but have had a bumpy ride during an SEC play, suffering surprising losses to Auburn and Ole Miss.
l Series History: Sunday’s game marks the 51st all-time meeting — and the second of the season — between the Vanderbilt and Kentucky. The Commodores own a 28-22 lead in the series, including a 14-7 edge at Memorial Gym. … Vanderbilt defeated Kentucky 71-69 on Jan. 28 in Lexington, ending the Wildcats’ nine-game winning streak in the series. It was VU’s first win in Lexington since 2009, and VU’s first road win over a ranked opponent since winning at Oklahoma in 2012. … Vanderbilt head coach Melanie Balcomb has gone 11-10 against Kentucky during her tenure at VU, including 6-4 in Nashville (6-3 at Memorial Gym, 0-1 at Bridgestone Arena). … The Commodores went 22-1 against the Cats from the beginning of the 1991-92 season through the end of the 2008-09 campaign, but VU is just 2-10 against Kentucky since then.
l Most recent Vanderbilt-Kentucky game: Sophomore Christa Reed knocked down two 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds, including the go-ahead shot with 1:26 to play, to help send Vanderbilt to a 71-69 upset of then-No. 12-ranked Kentucky on Jan. 28 in Lexington. The Commodores secured the victory when Marqu’es Webb blocked a potential game-tying shot by Kentucky’s Janee Thompson with two seconds left. Reed scored all of her team-high 19 points in the second half and finished 5-of-9 from 3-point range, and Rebekah Dahlman added 18 points despite being sidelined by foul trouble for much of the second half. The game featured 11 lead changes and six ties. Rachel Bell had 15 points for the Commodores, and Webb pulled down 11 rebounds. Vanderbilt hit a season-high 10 3-pointers in the win, finishing 10-of-24 from 3-point range. Kentucky star Makayla Epps scored a game-high 25 points.
l VU’s most recent game: Hosting No. 25 Tennessee on Thursday night, the Commodores trimmed a 19-point third-quarter deficit down to six points with roughing five minutes remaining in the game, but the Lady Vols pulled away down the stretch and handed Vanderbilt a 69-51 loss at Memorial Gym. Jaime Norred scored a game-high 18 points for the Lady Vols (15-9, 6-5), who finished 0-of-12 from 3-point range but outscored Vanderbilt 42-20 in the paint. Rebekah Dahlman scored 13 points, Minta Spears had 11 and Jasmine Jenkins had 10 for Vanderbilt (15-9, 4-7). It was the fourth straight loss for the Commodores, who erased a 22-point deficit against Arkansas on Monday night before losing on a buzzer-beater. Against Tennessee, the Commodores trailed 43-24 at the 5:39 mark of the third quarter but put together a 22-9 run to slice the Lady Vols’ lead to 52-46 with 5:32 remaining in the game. Tennessee, however, outscored Vanderbilt 17-5 the rest of the way to stretch its winning streak in the series to four games. Vanderbilt’s Christa Reed, who came into the game as VU’s leading scored and ranked among the nation’s top-10 in 3-point accuracy, finished just 1-of-9 from the floor.
