NASHVILLE – The scoreboard doesn't resemble the effort Tarleton displayed on Tuesday afternoon, playing at the Southeastern Conference's Vanderbilt in Nashville at Memorial Gymnasium.
 
The Texans (2-1, 0-0 WAC) suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Commodores 84-48, who improved to 4-0 on the season. Although the game was out of reach for most of the second half, the purple and white kept it competitive against the Power Five program, who had just advanced to the third round of the Women's NIT a season ago.
 
Tarleton's leading scorer entering the matinee, Teresa Da Silva, finished with a team-high points again, this time 11 on 5-of-9 shooting, to go with two rebounds. Tyler Jackson scored exactly 10 points for the third straight game, adding three rebounds. Nine Texans scored on the day, with Elise Turrubiates leading the team in rebounds (five), and Mayra Caicedo leading in assists (four).
 
Vanderbilt got off to a hot start, scoring the game's first nine points, not allowing Tarleton to score over the first five minutes. Jackson buried a three-pointer at the 4:52 mark for the Texans' first points, and it sparked a strong finish to the quarter, with Tarleton trailing by just five at the end, 13-8. The Texans forced Vandy to shoot 5-of-17 (.294) in the opening frame.
 
In the second quarter with the score 20-12 Vanderbilt, the Commodores took command of the game with a 10-2 run to lead by 16. The Texans kept going inside and drawing fouls though to stay in it, down at halftime 33-18.
 
In the third, the Texans found their offensive groove, making 7-of-12 (.583) from the field, including a 3-of-7 (.429) clip from downtown. But ultimately, Vanderbilt was more efficient shooting overall, making 32-of-58 (.552) to Tarleton's 16-of-48 (.333) clip.
 
Vanderbilt outscored Tarleton in the paint 46-10 and had 33 points off of 22 forced Commodore turnovers.
 
Vanderbilt's Marnelle Garraud had a game-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 from distance, adding three assists and four steals. Sacha Washington had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and six rebounds in 20 minutes. Off the bench, Ryanne Allen (5-of-10 FG) and Amauri Williams (5-of-6 FG) each led with 13 points.
 
This was the third straight year Tarleton played an SEC team on the road after not playing one before in program history.
 
The Texans will be back home for a game, a non-conference matchup against the College of Charleston on Friday at 6 p.m. CT at Wisdom Gym.