Vanderbilt scored two wins over ranked teams for the first time since the 2015-16 season, with both wins coming over the last week, earning the Commodores NCAA.com team of the week honors.
Moving into the Associated Press Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Poll for the first time in over a decade (Feb. 10, 2014), Vanderbilt broke in at No. 23 in Monday’s AP Top 25 after a 66-64 road win over No. 19 Alabama on Sunday. Earlier in the week on Jan. 23, the Commodores rolled to a 101-60 home win over Arkansas. On Jan. 19 in Nashville, Vanderbilt defeated No. 15 Tennessee, 71-70.
In the win over Alabama, freshman Mikayla Blakes scored half of Vanderbilt’s points, dropping in 33 in leading Vanderbilt to the two-point win. The 33-point performance marked the second time this season that Blakes has scored 30-or-more points in a game, joining Barbara Brackman (1981-82) as the only Vanderbilt freshmen to register 30-plus points in multiples games in a season. Blakes came up clutch in the second half, scoring 19 points over the final two quarters to help Vanderbilt erase a nine-point deficit in the third quarter. The victory snapped Vanderbilt’s 10-game losing streak to Alabama and was the first road win over a top-25 opponent since knocking off No. 24 Missouri, 56-52, on Feb. 28, 2016.
Earlier in the week, Vanderbilt led wire-to-wire in the 41-point win over Arkansas, breaking the century mark for the sixth time this season to set a program record for most games with 100-plus points. The 41-point victory was Vanderbilt’s largest margin of victory versus a Southeastern Conference team since a 92-41 win over Mississippi State on Jan. 3, 2013.
Vanderbilt was paced by five double-digit scorers against Arkansas, led by Blakes’ 24-point performance. Sophomore Khamil Pierre had a 20-point performance, while senior Iyana Moore tallied 18 points. Graduate student Jane Nwaba tallied a season-high 13 points and hit a season-high three 3-pointers, while sophomore Madison Greene contributed 10 points off the bench.
With both Pierre (21.7) and Blakes (21.0) averaging over 21 points per game this season, coach Shea Ralph’s Commodores have been a model of efficiency, averaging 85.8 points per game, while holding opponents to 62.9.
Vanderbilt,17-4 overall and 4-3 in SEC play, will next travel to Florida on Jan. 30 for another important conference road matchup.
