After a solid performance against Alabama last night, No. 24 Vanderbilt has an opportunity to snap another much longer losing streak against arch-rival Tennessee on Sunday.

The Commodores (12-4, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) defeated the Crimson Tide 85-76 to snap a two-game losing streak. Senior guard Jennifer Risper paced the Commodores with 17 points and six rebounds, while senior forward and leading scorer Christina Wirth added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Vanderbilt raced out to a 47-22 halftime lead before Alabama got back in it in the second half, but the Commodores still won their third straight conference opener and fifth in the past six seasons.

With the memory of blowing a 20-point lead to No. 6 Notre Dame back on Dec. 30, the Commodores were able to make this advantage stand up.

"We're going to attack every game for the rest of the season," Wirth said after that loss.

Next on deck though, are the No. 7 Volunteers under legendary coach Pat Summit.

Vanderbilt was swept in the season series last year by the Volunteers, losing at home 81-68 to snap a six-game winning streak and in Knoxville 79-63, as well as a loss in the SEC Tournament, 63-48. The Commodores have not knocked off Tennessee since 2002 and have lost 15 in a row since then.

Turnovers plagued the Commodores in last season's match-ups with Pat Summit's physical team as they gave the ball away 24 times in both losses.

Tennessee, who defeated Kentucky in its conference opener last night14, are a perennial powerhouse, but it was Vanderbilt that was picked by The Associated Press to win the SEC Championship this season. Thus far, not all has gone to plan after a somewhat disappointing 11-4 run through the far easier non-conference schedule.

A road win to open SEC play was a good remedy.

"I always (say) to my team that it is a journey," said coach Melanie Balcomb.

1,250 tickets have been allocated for students for Sunday's contest, who as always will get in free with their Vanderbilt ID. After that has been used up, students will have to buy from the ticket office.