Under coach Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt women’s basketball is narrowing gap with Lady Vols

Vanderbilt women’s basketball has won in Knoxville only once in the long history of its rivalry with Tennessee. Even in the days when the Commodores made regular NCAA Tournament appearances and even a Final Four, Thompson-Boling Arena was a house of horrors.

In the 12 years since Pat Summitt retired, the Lady Vols have no longer been the dynasty they once were. But Vanderbilt fell even harder, going from 15 straight seasons in the tournament to a full decade on the outside.

It couldn’t pull out the win Sunday against the Lady Vols, losing 73-64. But Vanderbilt (17-3, 4-2 SEC), which tied the game with four minutes left before Tennessee (12-6, 5-1) pulled away, looks like a team that’s closer to closing the gap than it has been in a while.

“I think there were some missed opportunities, missed open shots, missed layups,” coach Shea Ralph said in the postgame news conference. “We didn’t shoot a free throw in the second half. I’ll leave that there. . . . We didn’t do some things today that we should have and could have done to win the game, and that’s what we have to look at.

“But when I leave here today, I’m going to tell my team, like I did in the locker room, and we fought hard. We competed and we had a chance all the way up until about four minutes left into the game, and then it just kind of fell apart on us. I’m proud of them for that, and I think it’s certainly something that we will take away and build on.”

Ralph has hit big on several transfer additions. Both Jordyn Oliver and Justine Pissott, who joined Vanderbilt from the Lady Vols, have been solid role players who raise the team’s floor. A year ago, Marnelle Garraud and Ciaja Harbison were the team’s two best players in an injury-riddled season. And the recruiting is starting to come through as well.

Of the three-player 2022 freshman class, Ralph’s first full recruiting class, one was dismissed after just one semester, and the other two average less than 10 minutes per game. But the five-player 2023 class already has produced two rotational players in Khamil Pierre and Aga Makurat, and Madison Greene was in that group, too, before her season ended with a torn ACL.

The team still has some holes, and the Lady Vols exposed them. The Commodores’ two main post players, Pierre and Sacha Washington, are 6-foot-2. That’s tough in a league where most teams have a dominant big who is at least 6-4. Vanderbilt was out-rebounded 35-25 and attempted just six free throws, while Tennessee had 18.

“We knew that they were big,” Ralph said. “I felt like there’s some advantages for us as well. But obviously, when you’re not locked into making sure that you’re the first person that’s hitting them . . . that kind of takes a toll. We have to do all the little things right. Especially in the paint, when we’re playing players that are bigger than us, and I thought today we were late getting to spots. We didn’t do a great job boxing out and when we did some of the guards came in and took the rebounds. So there’s certainly some things we can clean up there.”

With 10 games to go in conference play, a 4-6 record likely would get the Commodores an NCAA Tournament berth. They still have a chance to get revenge on Tennessee in the home half of the series, and they have two games against last-place Georgia. Sitting in fourth place in the league, even a double-bye in the SEC Tournament is in play.

The Commodores might not be there quite yet, but Sunday was evidence that they’re getting there. If they continue on their trajectory, this rivalry has a chance for an exceptional second act.

JUSTINE PISSOTT What Shea Ralph said about Justine Pissott’s first game against Tennessee after transfer

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.