Vanderbilt (8-1, 0-0 SEC) at Miami (7-0, 0-0 ACC)
Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 • 4 p.m. CT
Watsco Center • Coral Gables, Fla. • ACC Network
94.9 The Fan • Vanderbilt Athletics App • Live Stats • Game Notes
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team takes to the road Wednesday as the Commodores take on Miami as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge. Tipoff from the Watsco Center is set for 4 p.m. CT and airs live on ACC Network and the Watch ESPN app.
Starting Five
>> Vandy got back into the win column this past Sunday as the Dores picked up a 94-40 victory over Appalachian State at Memorial Gymnasium. Vanderbilt scored the first 19 points of the game, as the Commodores outscored the Mountaineers 33-2 in the opening quarter and never looked back. Five Commodores scored double-digit points, led by Mikayla Blakes’ game-high 20-point performance.
>> The Commodores checked in at No. 7 in the first NET ranking of the 2024-25 season. It is the highest NET ranking in program history. The Commodores are one of four SEC teams placed inside the top 10 in the first NET ranking of the season. The NET is an evaluation tool used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee to determine seeding and at-large bids.
>> Senior Iyana Moore broke into Vanderbilt’s 1,000-point club with her final basket in Sunday’s win over Appalachian State. The guard had 13 points against the Mountaineers to give her a career total of 1,002 career points. Moore is the 42nd Commodore to score 1,000 career points and the first since Sacha Washington at the end of last season.
>> Vanderbilt and Miami meet for the fourth time on the hardwood. The Hurricanes hold a 2-1 advantage, winning back-to-back games against the Dores coming into Wednesday. The last game between the two occurred on Dec. 20, 2018, in Winter Park, Florida, where Miami claimed the 90-65 win. The first matchup took place on March 26, 1992, in the Sweet 16 round of the 1992 NCAA Tournament, where Vandy scored the 77-67 victory to advance to the Elite Eight.
>> This will be the second edition of the SEC/ACC Challenge. It is slated for Wednesday, Dec. 4, and Thursday, Dec. 5. The event will feature games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC Network, and SEC Network. Last season, Vanderbilt dropped a 70-62 decision at No. 5/10-ranked NC State, as the two leagues ended in a 7-7 tie.
Game Coverage
Wednesday’s contest at Miami airs live at 4 p.m. CT on ACC Network and is available via the Watch ESPN app, with Dave O’Brien and Aja Ellison calling the action. Fans can listen to Jake Lyman locally on 94.9 The Fan and the Vanderbilt Commodores app outside of Nashville.
Dynamic Duo
Sophomore Khamil Pierre (24th, 19.9 ppg) and freshman Mikayla Blakes (28th,19.6 ppg) are one of the highest-scoring pair of teammates in NCAA Division I this season. The duo is one of two sets of teammates to rank inside the top 30 nationally in points per game, with TCU’s Sedona Prince (22nd, 20.1 ppg) and Hailey Van Lith (24th,19.9 ppg) being the other. Combined, Pierre and Blakes are averaging a combined 39.5 points per game this season.
A Balanced Scoring Sheet
Vanderbilt had five or more players score double-digits in a game for the second time this season in the 94-70 win over Appalachian State on Dec. 1. Freshman Mikayla Blakes scored a game-high 20 points. Senior Iyana Moore chipped in 13 points, while graduate student Jane Nwaba tallied a season-best 12 points. Sophomores Aga Makurat and Aiyana Mitchell rounded out the group, with each player registering 10 points. The first time came against Samford, where six Dores registered double-figure points.
Setting Quarter Records
Vanderbilt outscored Appalachian State 33-2 in the first quarter en route to a 94-40 win on Dec. 1. The two points scored against the Commodores were the fewest points the program has allowed in any quarter in school history. The plus-31-point advantage at the end of the quarter marked the largest scoring margin in a single quarter in program history. The NCAA moved women’s basketball from two halves to four quarters prior to the start of the 2015-16 season.
Mixing and Matching
Vanderbilt used its fourth different starting lineup in the Dec. 1 win over Appalachian State, as graduate student Jane Nwaba returned to the starting five and sophomore Aiyana Mitchell made her first career start. Mitchell makes the seventh different Commodore to record a start through the season’s first nine games.
Mitch’s Improvement
Sophomore Aiyana Mitchell made her first collegiate start on Dec. 1 against Appalachian State. The 6-4 forward matched her career highs in points (10) and rebound (6) in a career-best 20 minutes of action against the Mountaineers. Mitchell is averaging a career-best 6.2 points and 3.7 rebounds through nine games this season.
Elite Defense
The Dores have been locking up teams with high efficiency this season. Vanderbilt ranks 14th in the nation in points allowed at 52.2 points per game. The Commodores have held foes to 60 or fewer points in all but one game this season. Vandy’s 24.2 turnovers forced per game is 23rd-best in all of NCAA Division I, while their plus-9.89 turnover margin ranks 10th nationally. Vanderbilt is also holding teams to the 50th-lowest field goal percentage in the nation at 36.1 percent.
Scouting the Hurricanes
Miami comes into the SEC/ACC Challenge sporting a perfect 7-0 record after winning the Miami Thanksgiving Tournament last week. The Hurricanes posted an 83-74 overtime win over Quinnipiac in the tournament’s championship game. Miami is a perfect 6-0 this season and came in at No. 72 in the first NET rankings of the season.
The Hurricanes are led by a pair of double-digit scoring seniors in Haley Cavinder (18.0 ppg) and Cameron Williams (11.4 ppg). Cavinder has scored double-digit points in all but one game this season and has registered 30 or more points in two contests. The 5-6 guard is coming off a 30-point effort against Quinnipiac. Williams has recorded a pair of double-doubles this season, with the most recent coming on Nov. 29 in a win over Charlotte, where she registered 22 points and 10 rebounds.
As a team, Miami is averaging 81.4 points per game. The Hurricanes are shooting 44.7 percent from the field and connect on 27.9 percent of their shots from behind the arc. Defensively, Miami is giving up 64.4 points per contest. Teams are posting a 38.3 percent field goal percentage and 31.5 percent on field goal shots.
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