After defeating the Tennessee Lady Volunteers last weekend at home, the Vanderbilt Commodores are hungry for more — and this weekend, the Crimson Tide are on the menu. Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball will head to Tuscaloosa on Jan. 26 to take on Alabama at 1 p.m. CST, looking to bring Memorial Magic to Coleman Coliseum. The game will stream on SEC Network.
Standing at 15-4, Vanderbilt is hoping to not only improve its overall record but also earn a valuable win on its quest to the NCAA tournament. To improve their 2-3 SEC record, the ‘Dores are eager to take down their 17-3 (4-2) conference rival: No. 19 Alabama.
The three they need
If the Vanderbilt Commodores’ leading scorers and top performers keep up their impressive work, they will most definitely have a chance to slow Alabama’s roll. To stem the Crimson Tide, Vanderbilt will need sophomore Khamil Pierre to deliver like she has all season. Pierre leads the team with 22.3 points per game and is one of the top multi-dimensional players in the country. Joining her in leading the Commodores are stand-out first-year Mikayla Blakes, who contributes 20.2 points per game, and sophomore Iyana Moore, who racks up 13.6. As exemplified by her clutch game-winning put-back against the Lady Volunteers, Blakes is a key to the team’s success and Moore is invaluable as a tertiary scorer with the ability to deliver in crucial moments.
Some refer to Pierre and Blakes as a “dynamic duo” since they work together as a formidable inside/outside threat. They are the only pair of teammates in the NCAA to both average over 20 points and 2.5 steals per game. They also set Vanderbilt single-game scoring records 19 days apart. Pierre dropped 42 against Evansville on Dec. 14 to break the program’s single-game scoring record and Blakes put up 36 points, a first-year record, against Georgia on Jan. 2.
Guard on guard
Blakes has already made a name for herself both in the SEC and the NCAA. In her first battle for the state of Tennessee last week, Blakes delivered, finishing with 23 points. She flashed her poise in the game’s waning moments, grabbing Pierre’s miss and scoring a game-winning putback for Vanderbilt.
She has started every game of the season thus far and has been a game-changer for the Commodores. Blakes’ maturity has helped the team overcome the loss of last year’s star guard, Jordyn Cambridge. Blakes was deservingly named the Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). She leads all first-years nationally in scoring, so it is no surprise that Blakes is in contention for SEC Freshman of the Year as well as National Freshman of the Year.
Blakes is most definitely a threat, but this is not to say that Alabama does not have some weapons in the backcourt. This includes Zaay Green. Averaging 16.8 points and 5 rebounds per game, Green is not one to disregard. She has played a total of 613 minutes so far this season, the third most on Alabama’s squad. Standing at 6’2, she makes her presence known both offensively and defensively. Green has five inches on the 5’8 Blakes, so this will make for an entertaining matchup of drastically different size and resulting play styles from the two guards.
The battle of the boards
Rebounding is a key aspect of play that is often overlooked by the casual fan who focuses on scoring. Vanderbilt is similar to Alabama on the boards (hauling in 40.9 rebounds to the Crimson Tide’s 40.1) but lacks in size. For the Crimson Tide, forward Essence Cody stands at 6’4 and has started all but one game this season. Although she’s only made one start so far this year, center JeAnna Cunningham makes her 6’5 presence felt, having appeared in every game. Cody and Cunningham combine to average 9.8 rebounds per game, representing a significant challenge for the Commodores in the paint.
For Vanderbilt, forward Khamil Pierre stands at 6’2 and leads the team in rebounding, averaging 10.2 boards per game — second in the SEC. At 5’10, scrappy guard Jordyn Oliver is the second-leading rebounder on the squad, chipping in with 5.5 per game. Even with this talent, the ‘Dores lack size and are feeling the absence of 6’2 center Sacha Washington, who is out for the season due to blood clots in her leg.
After getting the job done against the Volunteers, Vanderbilt will look to follow Diego Pavia’s lead and make themselves at home against Alabama this weekend.
