Round Two in Nashville: Vanderbilt and Kentucky Meet Again
No. 5 Vanderbilt Looks to Bounce Back
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Sunday will make game number 28 for the No. 5 Vanderbilt Commodores women’s basketball team (24-3), and their first rematch of the season as the No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats come to Memorial Gymnasium. The Wildcats come in at 20-7, and are a team that I have a strong respect for. Coach Kenny Brooks has a team with ballers, and on any night they can put great pressure on the opposition.
The Dores last saw them on February 5, at Historic Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky., and escaped with an 84-83 win led by a 37-point outing from Mikayla Blakes. Freshman Aubrey Galvan may have been the real hero of the night with four clutch free throws in the last 20 seconds, finishing with a 16-point night.
Sunday’s matchup will feature two teams that are coming off bye weeks. The Cats last defeated the Ole Miss Rebels, 74-57 last Sunday, and the Dores took a two-point fall at Georgia the same day. Going into this game, my main questions are can Vanderbilt get back to the team we all saw against Oklahoma and Texas? Those games the Dores looked as close to a postseason ready team as we have seen. Then, the trip to Georgia brought challenges that left a bunch of people thinking.
The second question is, which team will apply what they learned from each other in the first matchup earlier this month? Kentucky can move the ball around well enough to catch wide open shots. They will use the drive to force help, and kick out to a wide open corner or wing. That is something they did pretty well against the Dores. Kentucky shot 10-for-20 from beyond the arc that night, and nine of those were from Amelia Hassett and Asia Boone.
Vanderbilt has to switch and shift fluidly to close out on the perimeter and help cut down on Kentucky’s perimeter setup. When Vanderbilt’s been able to do that teams have not shot the three well against them. They just can’t allow Kentucky to be comfortable out there, and that is the point.
Who knows the perimeter game better than Justine Pissott? Pissott not only shoots a high percentage from three, but her size and proven defensive game this season will be very important against the Wildcats. It is very important that she stays out of foul trouble. The Commodores will need her on both ends.
Kentucky’s Clara Strack and Teonni Key are two 6’5″ players that you just have to find a way to slow down. One of the best defenses to that is to try and force foul trouble on the opposite end of the floor as early as you can. Last time these two met, Key had a 27-point, 12-rebound night, and Strack contributed 14 points with 15 rebounds.
Honestly, I felt that the Dores did a decent job with Strack overall. As you know, she can go for much more than that but when she is on, it can be a long day. Her size, footwork, and accuracy from the mid range and outside is a threat to any team she faces.
For Vanderbilt offensively, I am looking for them to come off last week’s loss to Georgia and bring a better flow. Over this week of rest and practice, I know they have worked to address things from that game and this team has done a great job of responding this year to a little adversity. Aubrey Galvan had a rough day in Athens, and I am looking for her to bounce back to herself against Kentucky. She was effective in Lexington, and I believe she will be at home again.
Bench play for the Dores has been a point of emphasis over the last few weeks especially. Aga Makurat was solid with eight points in just over 15 minutes against the Wildcats last time. Her contributions as a shot changer on defense is more of a need in my opinion.
The way Kentucky likes to score, and with their length, it may take contributions from everyone to combat that. Aalyah Del Rosario has been an effective body lately, especially against Texas and Oklahoma. Will she get a chance to bring her play to the court this week? I feel like this game will definitely call for effective minutes from the bench.
Then, Mikayla Blakes as it always comes down to her. She is the one that everyone wants to slow down. Georgia had a good plan for her, but they are one of the absolute few that has shown that. Still, she did what was necessary and still put 27 points on the board by scoring 19 from the free-throw stripe.
Blakes can get to the rim, and when she does that everything changes for Vanderbilt. The Wildcats couldn’t stop her from driving and converting last time they played, and she was also effective from all three levels on offense. I believe she bounces back from a game where she shot the ball only eight times against Georgia, and has a big day on Sunday.
This game could come down to another close last minute deal, or it could be a double-digit point difference. I just know that this should be a good game, and I believe what type of game it turns into depends on what type of Kentucky team shows up to Nashville. For Vanderbilt, I fully expect them to respond from last week’s game.
This will be a nationally televised game, as you can catch the action on ESPN2 at 3:00 PM CT with Sam Gore and Brooke Weisbrod on the call. If you can’t watch, be sure and tune in to Jake Lyman locally on 94.9 The Fan and the Vanderbilt Commodores app outside of Nashville. As always, check here for coverage and the Mays Sports Media postgame recap.
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