The No. 18 Vanderbilt women's basketball team looks to stay atop the Southeastern Conference when Louisiana State visits Memorial Gym Sunday afternoon in a battle between two of the three teams still undefeated in SEC play.

The Tigers (9-5, 2-0 SEC) lost 6-foot-6 star forward and 2008 SEC Player of the Year Sylvia Fowles to the WNBA and are not the power they were when she led them to three straight Final Fours in the NCAA Tournament. Still, they have defeated conference foes 17 straight times in the regular season since losing to Vanderbilt at Memorial in February of 2007.

LSU defeated New Orleans Wednesday for its third straight win and eighth in 10 games. Junior guard Allison Hightower, one of only two players to start in all 14 games, leads the team with 13.6 points per game.

The Commodores meanwhile are riding high after defeating then-No. 7 Tennessee last Sunday for the first time in 17 tries. Their performance left Volunteer coach Pat Summitt impressed with what she called the most aggressive team she'd faced at Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt (13-4, 2-0) showed off its offensive versatility by getting consistent dribble penetration on the Volunteers. The Commodore backcourt, despite having a poor day shooting from beyond the arc, out-hustled and outplayed the Tennessee guards in a sparkling performance.

"Jen Risper and Jess Mooney and even Meredith Marsh were taking people off the dribble and attacking," said Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb.

Winners of two straight after losing the final two games of non-conference play, the Commodores are beginning to look like the team that was picked at the beginning of the season to win the SEC.

Senior forward Christina Wirth said she and her teammates have put their early season struggles behind them.

"We've learned our mistakes in past games. That's what (non-conference play is) for," Wirth said. "We know what we're capable of."