Nashville, Tenn. – Four Blue Hose scored in double figures, but the Presbyterian College women's basketball team could not overcome a sluggish 3rd quarter as they dropped an 81-57 decision to Vanderbilt on Saturday night at Memorial Gymnasium. Junior guard Nyah Willis led the way as she recorded her second double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
FINAL SCORE: Vanderbilt 81, Presbyterian 57
LOCATION: Memorial Gymnasium (Nashville, Tenn.)
RECORDS: Presbyterian (5-5) | Vanderbilt (7-5)
Coach Sharp's Thoughts
" Our team has great resilience. We didn't play perfectly tonight and obviously didn't win but life is about handling adversity and responding through it with fight and effort. I'm proud of our effort and execution in the 2nd and 4th quarters. We will stay focused on continuing to work on taking care of the ball and getting better."
Scoring the Game
- Vanderbilt jumped out to an early 13-4 lead by using the deep ball as the hosts connected on three from beyond the arc in the opening four minutes. After a Barker layup, the Commodores continued their hot-shooting with a pair of threes behind a 10-4 run to take a 23-10 lead to the second quarter.
- The Blue Hose bounced back in the second with a 14-4 run over the first six minutes of the quarter to cut the Vanderbilt lead down to three, 27-24 with 3:30 to play in the first half. In that stretch, PC was led by Willis with four points along with Brady adding a pair of buckets as well. The hosts responded down the stretch with an 8-1 run to take a 35-25 advantage to halftime.
- Vanderbilt jumped out to a fast start in the third quarter with an 18-3 run over the first five minutes of the third to take a 53-28 advantage over the Blue Hose. After the Commodores extended it to 60-29 with a 7-1 spurt, Maleia Bracone scored the Blue Hose final seven points to make it a 63-37 game heading to the fourth.
- Similar to the second, the Blue Hose responded in the fourth quarter with an 11-3 run capped by a jumper from Carter to make it a 66-48 game. The Blue Hose wouldn't be able to inch any closer to the Commodores in this one as an 11-2 burst pushed it out to a 77-50 advantage and its eventual final score of 81-57.
Players of the Game
- Nyah Willis led the Blue Hose with a team-high 16 points while pulling down 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Maleia Bracone added 14 points with four threes to go along with six rebounds. Bryanna Brady and Tionna Carter each had 10 points as well in the contest. Brady had a team-high three assists. Brinae Alexander had a game-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting. De'Mauri Flournoy had a dozen points, while Demi Washington and Iyana Moore each added 10 points. Sacha Washington pulled down a team-best seven rebounds, while Jordyn Cambridge had seven helpers to pace Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Stats of the Game
- Vanderbilt shot 47.7% (31-of-65) from the field while holding the Blue Hose to 33.9% (19-of-56) on Saturday night. The Commodores connected on 10-of-21 from deep while the Blue Hose were good on 7-of-15 threes. PC made 12-of-17 at the foul line with the hosts making 9-of-15. PC won the rebounding battle 41-37 led by Willis with 12 boards. Vanderbilt had 19 assists compared to just nine for Presbyterian. Vanderbilt had a 38-24 edge in points in the paint while holding a 35-10 advantage with bench points.
Notables
- Freshman A'Nyah Barker collected her first collegiate start on Saturday night for the Blue Hose. Barker totaled seven points to go along with four rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals. She also played a career-high 34 minutes.
- Nyah Willis recorded her second double-double of the season and her third career double-double on Saturday with a team-high 16 points and 12 rebounds.
- Senior center Bryanna Brady notched her fourth double-figure scoring performance of the season with 10 points as she added five offensive rebounds and a team-high three assists.
- Tionna Carter recorded her third double-figure scoring game of the season with 10 points off the bench as she tied her season-high with seven rebounds.
- Saturday was a season-high with 18 offensive rebounds which was led by five apiece for Willis and Brady. It's the sixth time this season that the Blue Hose have had 10+ offensive boards.
Up Next
- The Blue Hose wraps up their non-conference slate on Monday with a noon tip against Agnes Scott back inside the Templeton Center. Monday's matchup with the Scotties will wrap up a three-game in five day stretch for PC.
