Just like in a loss to LSU 10 days ago, Vanderbilt women’s basketball mostly played close with Tennessee for three quarters Sunday.
It was the first quarter that sunk the Commodores as they fell into a hole they couldn’t overcome. The Lady Vols shot 10-for-13 from the field in that quarter and built up a 15-point lead en route to an 86-61 win at Memorial Gymnasium.
Vanderbilt (19-8, 6-7 SEC) simply could not stop Rickea Jackson, the Tennessee star who is projected to be a high pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft. Jackson put up 24 points and seven rebounds on 11-for-15 shooting. The loss means that coach Shea Ralph is still searching for her first win against Tennessee (16-9, 9-4).
Vanderbilt remains on the NCAA Tournament bubble, likely needing to win at least two of its last three games against Missouri, Arkansas and Georgia, to receive a bid.
Tennessee’s splashy first quarter
During the first quarter, Tennessee made nearly every shot it took. That included shooting 5-for-6 on 3-pointers. Vanderbilt’s defense was frequently late closing out shooters, but the Lady Vols also made some tough contested shots.
Overall, Tennessee made 10 shots in the quarter.
Early foul trouble
During the second quarter, several Vanderbilt starters got into foul trouble, with Iyana Moore, Sacha Washington and Khamil Pierre each picking up two fouls.
That led Ralph to experiment with several different lineups, bringing in Jada Brown and Aiyana Mitchell for significant portions of the period.
During the second half, Vanderbilt did a better job staying out of foul trouble. Jordyn Cambridge fouled out with 12.6 seconds to go.
ESTES Jerry Stackhouse was right. Vanderbilt basketball isn’t close to Tennessee’s level
Iyana Moore leads the offense
Moore, as she has so many times this season, provided the primary scoring threat for Vanderbilt on a day the offense struggled overall.
Pierre, who played with a wrap on her right hand after injuring the hand against Texas A&M on Thursday, put up a goose egg. The bench didn’t score much either, with no one in that unit putting up more than two points.
Moore scored 25 points. Cambridge had 14 and Washington had 13. No one else had more than three points for Vanderbilt.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt can’t overcome early deficit, Rickea Jackson vs. Lady Vols
