Vanderbilt women’s basketball will open its March Madness run against No. 15 seed High Point (27-5) on March 21.
The Commodores (27-4), a 2-seed, will be hosting the first and second round games at Memorial Gymnasium.
The other teams coming to Nashville are No. 7 seed Illinois and No. 10 seed Colorado. If Vanderbilt gets past the Panthers, it will play one of those two teams for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.
Here’s our prediction for the matchup:
While High Point notched wins over a few solid mid-majors in Vermont and Charleston, the Panthers have only played one Power Four opponent.
That team was Houston, a game High Point lost by 10 on the road. The Cougars were one of the worst teams in the Power Four, finishing 1-17 in the Big 12 and 7-23 overall.
Macy Spencer is High Point’s best player. She averages 18.4 points per game and shoots 39% from three. Despite being a 5-8 guard, she is second on the team with 20 blocks.
The Panthers have another high-scoring guard in 5-6 Aaliyah Collins, who averages 15.2 points per game and has a team-high 104 assists and 75 steals. Her 50.1% field-goal percentage is also the highest on the team.
Mikayla Blakes and Aubrey Galvan will likely be tasked with defending Spencer and Collins, matching up two strong scoring backcourts.
Vanderbilt is relatively undersized for an SEC team, but High Point, like many mid-majors, has even less size. Only one player on the roster is over 6-foot-1, 6-5 center Kelsey Miller. Miller has appeared in just nine games this season, averaging 2.6 minutes per game.
Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 6 p.m. CT
TV: ESPNews
Vanderbilt 95, High Point 59
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X @aria_gerson.
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