The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University

The Vanderbilt Hustler

The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University.
Since 1888
The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University

The Vanderbilt Hustler

The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University.
The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University

The Vanderbilt Hustler

The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University.

Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball to hold open tryouts

Graphic+pulled+from+%40VandyWBB+on+Tiwtter+
Graphic pulled from @VandyWBB on Tiwtter

The Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball team will hold an open tryout for students from Sunday, December 9th to Friday, December 14th, the team announced on Twitter.

Interested students must be enrolled full-time at Vanderbilt and complete a physical before trying out. Anyone interested should email Morgan Batey ([email protected]).

The Commodores began the season with just 10 active players, nine of whom are on scholarship, after losing many key players to graduation or transfer in the offseason. Despite working with a shorthanded roster, the team has shown promise. So far, their 3-5 record includes decisive wins against Tennessee State, Austin Peay, and Presbyterian.

Regardless of the game’s outcome, transfer student Mariella Fasoula, sophomore Chelsie Hall, and freshman Brinae Alexander have made the most of their opportunities. Those three players have scored as many as 25, 23, and 22 points, respectively. There’s certainly potential on this roster, but their individual season highs in minutes played have reached a worrisome 38 (or in the case of Chelsie Hall, 40), which sheds light on one pressing issue: the lack of depth.

In their last game, a road loss to Kansas State, Hall and freshman Jordyn Cambridge did not play. With center Bree Horrocks still out with blood clots, the team was down to just seven players, six of whom are on scholarship.

If their last matchup against Kansas State tells us anything, it’s that this team is in serious need of more bodies. Without Hall and her consistent 35 or more minutes played, only five players other than Alexander and Fasoula made appearances against the Wildcats: Autumn Newby, Cierra Walker, Kaleigh Clemons-Green, Isabella Paldrmic and LeaLea Carter.

In fact, Isabella Paldrmic, a walk-on player herself, logged just two minutes in this game.

The good news for the Commodores is that they have an incoming freshman class with six players that could make a tremendous impact next season, so these depth issues could be more of a short-term problem.

Now, the Commodores are looking for their next walk on to make an impact. Whichever lucky students get a call-back from head coach Stephanie White could be able to make a real impact.

Opportunities to walk onto a legitimate SEC basketball team are sparse, so White should have plenty to choose from come Sunday.

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About the Contributor
Simon Gibbs, Former Sports Editor
Simon Gibbs (‘21) is the former Sports Editor for The Vanderbilt Hustler. He has been on staff since the first semester of his freshman year, previously serving as a Staff Writer, Senior Writer and Deputy Sports Editor. Simon is also the host of VU Sports Wired on Vanderbilt Video Productions and The Hustler Sports 30 on VandyRadio. Simon has attended several events as credentialed media, including the 2019 NFL Draft, 2019 College Baseball World Series and the 2019 SEC Tournament. Outside of his Commodore coverage, Simon has had bylines published on NHL.com and NashvillePredators.com. When he's not writing, you can find Simon watching his hometown New York Mets, waiting for that next ring. For tips, comments or concerns, please reach out to: [email protected]    
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