Vanderbilt Commodores upend No. 13 Texas A&M Aggies

NASHVILLE -- Behind a 30-point effort from senior forward Tiffany Clarke, the Vanderbilt women knocked off No. 13 Texas A&M 61-51 on Sunday at Memorial Gym.

Clarke was 12-of-25 from the floor on her way to setting a career-high in scoring, with 22 points coming in the second half. Her previous high was 27, most recently reached against Alabama last month.

It was the Commodores' second win over a ranked opponent in seven tries.

Vanderbilt (18-9, 8-6 SEC) led by five at the half after holding the Aggies to a season-low 20 first-half points. Texas A&M (21-7, 11-3) shot just 8-of-28 from the field (28.6 percent). Senior Elan Brown had 10 points in the first half for the Commodores.

Vanderbilt extended its lead to 31-20 with three straight baskets to open the second half. The Aggies were able to pull within three points with 6:53 remaining, but the Commodores did not allow them any closer, pushing the lead back to as much as 61-49 with just under a minute remaining.

Vanderbilt did not trail after taking a 14-13 lead with 8:48 remaining in the first half.

Aggies center Kelsey Bone, who entered the game averaging 17.6 points and ranked second nationally in field goal percentage (59.0), led Texas A&M with 17 points on 6-of-18 shooting.

The Commodores were without All-SEC guard Christina Foggie, who missed her fourth consecutive game due to a knee injury sustained on Feb. 10 against Kentucky.

Nick Cole writes for The Tennessean, a Gannett property.