Georgia Stuns Vanderbilt 76–74, Commodores Drop from Top Seed
On Saturday, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Committee tabbed Vanderbilt as one of four #1 seeds in its first top 16 reveal of the season. Unfortunately, the Commodores immediately played themselves off the top line less than 24 hours later after losing to Georgia 76-74 in an early Sunday heartbreaker.
Vandy defeated two top 10 opponents Oklahoma and Texas at home last week and looked like they might carry that momentum into Athens early, jumping out to an 11-4 lead. But point guard Aubrey Galvan picked up her second foul midway through the first quarter and had to sit. With her absence the Commodores looked discombobulated, and Georgia took full advantage. The Bulldogs held star Mikayla Blakes without a field goal attempt in the first quarter and jumped out to a 27-20 lead.
Georgia continued the onslaught into the second quarter, extending to their largest lead of 14 with just over seven minutes left in the half. The Commodores, to their credit, would fight back to within three at halftime 39-36.
Vandy kept battling to stay within one or two scores in the third quarter and finally tied the game at 56-56 going into the fourth. The Commodores then scored the first 5 points of the last frame to go up 61-56 and it looked like Vandy might pull off the comeback. But the Bulldogs were resilient on their home court. They battled back to tie the game at 65-65 with just over six minutes left and back and forth the two teams went down the stretch.
Vandy took its last lead 74-73 with a 1:15 left on a pair of Blakes free throws, but Georgia responded with mid-range basket from guard Trinity Turner, and a free throw off a turnover from Aga Makurat to take a 76-74 lead for the final margin. Still, the Commodores had possession with 3.8 seconds left with a chance to tie or take the lead. Post Sacha Washington got a good look but couldn’t connect on a floater at the buzzer.
Blakes had her streak of 30-point games halted at four, finishing with 27. The Bulldogs played her physically and seemed intent on making her earn her points at the line. Blakes had only 8 field goal attempts for the game but finished 19-20 from the free throw line. She also led the team with 6 assists.
Justine Pissott was the only other Commodore who played well offensively, finishing with 23 points including 5-8 from three. Galvan, limited by foul trouble, finished with 5 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
Washington led the team with 9 rebounds, but went just 4-12 from the field including several frustrating missed layups to finish with 9 points. Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda also struggled with just 6 points shooting 3-12 from the field and missing all six of her three-point attempts.
The Commodores shot just 37% from the field and 31% from three. They were also outrebounded 35-27.
Georgia was led by guard Dani Carnegie who had a game high 29 points, along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. The Bulldogs shredded the Commodore defense with a blistering 56% shooting and 44% from three.
Coach Shea Ralph took some of the blame for not preparing her team well enough in the loss. “I think about the preparation, I could have done a better job. preparing them today” she said after the game.
Vandy falls to 24-3 on the season, and 10-3 in the conference. While the loss is hardly devastating, it is disappointing for several reasons. The Commodores’ four-game win streak is now over, as is their #1 seed. Georgia is now 20-6 on the season, but a mid-tier 6-6 team in the SEC. They are a “good” team that has hovered on the outside fringe of the top 25 for most of the season, but not the caliber of team Vanderbilt should lose to if they are going to be a team to make a deep run in March.
The Commodores head into a much-needed bye week and will look to get off the mat in a home rematch against Kentucky Sunday afternoon. Vandy squeaked by the Cats 84-83 in Lexington earlier in the month. Time to recalibrate and refocus.
“You also have to understand, and I tell my team, let’s eliminate the noise,” Ralph said. “You hear all the positive things. We can beat every team, but we can also lose to every team.”
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