Vanderbilt University junior Iyana Moore shot like she couldn’t miss Thursday night in Lexington, finishing with 37 points in the Dores’ 95-73 shellacking of Kentucky. The road win brings the team to 3-0 in the SEC and 16-1 on the season, a banner year for a program that’s gone a decade without an NCAA tournament appearance.
In basketball, numbers don’t lie, and Vanderbilt’s have been very, very good this year. Super senior Jordyn Cambridge leads the team with a hustle-heavy defensive motor and consistency from the three-point line. Sacha Washington is the team’s key in the paint, nabbing rebounds and finishing plays while taking key defensive matchups. A junior, Moore just keeps getting better, flashing her full potential Thursday night in the team’s third conference game. Freshman Khamil Pierre already looks like a veteran in her first college season.
Iyana Moore
It would not take long to heap praise on all 11 active players — down from a full roster of 13 after early season injuries — but I don’t want to say anything embarrassing or factually wrong, because, like you, I just started following the team. Vanderbilt basketball has seen its share of greats and even cultivated its own arena legend: “Memorial Magic,” the je ne sais quoi energy circulating in Memorial Gym. Three years after coming to Nashville from UConn, Coach Shea Ralph has (re)built a top-tier program. Practice is loud, fast and professional, the mark of a high-functioning team with players bought into each other and title hopes.
Now is a good time to start paying attention to the city’s best sports narrative. While the Titans disintegrate and the Predators sometimes lose, Vandy (almost) always wins. Tickets typically cost around $15, with plenty of big games coming up. Sunday at noon against Missouri is the team’s Pride Game, an initiative to highlight the LGBTQ community that, says assistant coach Kevin DeMille, is an important statement of support from the players and coaching staff.
Vanderbilt plays the Tennessee Lady Vols in Knoxville on Jan. 21 and at home on Feb. 18. Always an in-state rival and typically a powerhouse, the Lady Vols are fighting to keep their own tournament hopes alive. On Feb. 8, Vandy takes on reigning national champions LSU.
