Vanderbilt Escapes Newark with Top 10 Victory Over Wolverines
Anchor Down: No. 5 Vanderbilt Wins in New Jersey
A Top 10 women’s basketball matchup took the afternoon stage today as No. 5 Vanderbilt and No. 7 Michigan took the court in Newark, New Jersey, in the Coretta Scott King Classic. This game was a treat and really put two of the best in the country on center stage.
For anyone still doubting Vanderbilt after today, you’re just in denial. This team survived a second half push from Michigan and pulled out their second win over a Top 10 opponent this season, 72-69.
This game had kind of a March Madness feel from the beginning. Michigan jumped out to a 5-0 advantage before Vanderbilt answered back with Blakes and Pissott. The refs allowed the teams to play, especially in the paint early on. The paint is where I felt this game would be won. Michigan is a great rebounding team, and both teams like to get to the rim and score.
Vandy let it fly early, shooting 1-for-5 from three before the first media timeout of the game. If you’ve watched them play this season, that’s totally normal as shots will eventually fall. Justine Pissott took an NBA range three from the top of the key and buried it, and right after the timeout, Aubrey Galvan put up a prayer as the shot clock expired to give the Dores a five point lead.
Michigan was able to move the ball and get inside, but the presence of Washington, Mitchell, and Pissott affected them and forced them into easy misses. Kendall Dudley kept the persistence inside for the Wolverines. Vanderbilt through the first quarter did a decent job of keeping pace with Michigan on the boards.
It was no surprise to see Justine Pissott lighting it up from three early on. The Commodores took a 21-17 lead into the second quarter, and nine of those points came from Pissott, who went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in that quarter for 11 points. I say it every game, you cannot give her any room. She will make you pay.
When asked about Pissott’s performance and growth this season, Mikayla Blakes didn’t hold back her praise for her teammate.
“People don’t talk about her enough for me. I think she really stepped up in different ways and I know I saw her go through it last year,” Blakes said. “Like it hurt for her not to be able to play, but she didn’t take that and just say okay I’m not gonna play anymore. She took that and said I’m going to get better, I’m gonna get in the gym, I’m going to watch film, I’m going to be a leader for this team. She grew up in so many different ways.”
Blakes went on to explain the impact Pissott has on the team beyond the stat sheet.
“She continues to push me to be better every day and she gives me confidence even when she may not think she does,” she said. “So I think her growth just needs to be studied. Like she just came out and she’s just a worker. I don’t even know if I can say more on it but she’s just doing everything she can.”
Mikayla Blakes didn’t have her best day today, but she was able to penetrate and score while drawing contact as she does so well. It doesn’t matter which side you try to force her to, she can go. Vanderbilt jumped out to a 14 point advantage less than two minutes into the second quarter.
Vanderbilt’s defense was intense and in Michigan’s face. There were no easy buckets for the Wolverines, and that’s something the Commodores did well in the first half. Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda established her presence as well as Mitchell and Pissott on the defensive end. Their length and aggressiveness really affected Michigan big time.
Justine Pissott’s defensive abilities and what she can do on the boards are somewhat overlooked. She led Vanderbilt in rebounds with eight on the day. After the game she spoke on her defensive contributions.
“Yeah, I think it’s what my team needs from me. Everyone knows I can shoot the three, but I won’t be on the floor if I can’t play defense. I learned that last year, unfortunately. Everyone saw where I was last year, so this summer it was a key to play defense and it’s been playing.”
You can always count on Jada Brown off the bench, and with 5:11 to go in the half, she knocked down a three to give the Dores a 36-21 lead. Vanderbilt was able to do what they wanted in the half, led by Galvan and Pissott. The Commodores were hot from the field and beyond the arc.
Michigan was able to cut the lead to eight out of the media timeout. McKenzie Mathurin nailed a three, and the Wolverines tried to pick up the defensive intensity. They went on a 7-0 run before Aubrey Galvan scored her 10th point of the half by way of a three, and Vanderbilt got back to the paint, forcing the issue and capitalizing on the boards with Aiyana Mitchell, Sacha Washington, and Justine Pissott crashing.
Vanderbilt went to the half with a 47-30 lead, and my biggest takeaway was that Vanderbilt played a complete game in the first half. The defense was intense and affected Michigan tremendously, forcing 11 turnovers in the opening half.
On the offensive side, the three point game was hot. The Dores shot 7-of-14 in the first half and held a slight 21-19 rebounding advantage.
Then the second half came, and Michigan made the adjustments needed to make this a tough game for Vanderbilt. It was nowhere like the opening half of play.
Syla Swords came out and nailed three three point shots as she was able to get just a bit of room. Vanderbilt was able to go back to part of what made them effective in the first half of getting to the lane. Galvan and Blakes put pressure on the defense, and trying to fight off screens, Sofilkanich was getting frustrated. She picked up her third foul early in the third quarter.
Michigan was able to go on a run late in the third quarter and cut it to a 61-53 Vanderbilt lead with 1:51 to go in the quarter. Michigan turned up the defense and gave the Commodores a taste of what they had done to Michigan in the first half.
The Wolverines outscored Vanderbilt 23-14 in the third quarter, and that was credited to Michigan’s response after the half with better defense and forcing the Commodores into five turnovers.
Mikayla Blakes and Justine Pissott found themselves in big foul trouble, as each had four fouls early on in the fourth. Pissott took a seat with seven minutes to go, but Blakes stayed in and tried to stay out of harm’s way for a fifth. Michigan continued to force tough plays, and Brooke Quarles Daniels was right in the middle of it for Michigan, doing the dirty work to come up with balls.
Michigan went on an 8-0 run to cut it to 63-61 heading to the media timeout with 4:45 left. The Wolverines were just playing like they’re capable of playing. They turned up the intensity, forced Vanderbilt miscues and fouls, and got to the paint with Olson, Dudley, and Daniels leading the charge for Michigan late in this game.
Vanderbilt went nine minutes with only two points scored until Mikayla Blakes got to the free throw line to make it 65-61 with 4:41 left. Michigan was still in position to strike, but Vanderbilt was able to recover just in time to get up to an eight point lead thanks to Mitchell and Galvan. Mikayla Blakes came up with an all important offensive rebound to give Aubrey Galvan a three point shot with 3:03 left to make it 70-63.
Aubrey Galvan has been the freshman standout for this Commodores team all season. Today, she showed that on the national stage once again. Galvan never gets tired, as she played all 40 minutes, leading Vanderbilt with a career-high 20 points and shot 50 percent from the floor and forced two steals. Ralph spoke on Galvan afterwards.
“That kid is a dog. She’s a dog. So I don’t have to worry too much about her poise, her competitiveness. Sometimes I have to worry if she remembers something or she was listening in the huddle. Like, “Hey, hey, did you hear me? Do you know what we’re doing?” You know, stuff like that, but that’s freshman stuff,” said Ralph. “That’s different. I can work with that. The things that she has that I can’t coach are what make her special.”
Michigan would not go away and were able to go on a 6-1 run to bring it within two with 44 seconds left. Daniels’ defensive efforts were huge in this game for Michigan. She came up with a huge steal from Mikayla Blakes, giving it up to Dudley for a fastbreak layup.
Up by two, Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda had a shot at the rim, but thanks to defense by Michigan’s Dudley, she affected the shot and Michigan got the ball with 13 seconds left down 71-69.
Out of the timeout, Michigan would have the shot to tie or win, and Vanderbilt’s solid defense forced Michigan to take a three point shot from Olivia Olson, and she came up empty. They would then foul Aubrey Galvan out of the timeout, sending her to the line. Galvan hit one of two to give the Commodores a 72-69 lead, giving the Wolverines a last chance.
Coming out of their last timeout with two seconds to get a three point shot to tie, Syla Swords would come up short. The Commodores found a way to survive the second half Wolverine push.
After the game, Coach Shea Ralph reflected on her team’s performance and what it means to be 19-0.
“I’m really proud of my team. I feel like a broken record after every game this year,” Ralph said. “We are playing really good teams night in and night out, and we are figuring out ways to win when we haven’t played our best basketball yet. It’s January, we’re 19-0. We have different contributions from different people every single day, every single game, and today was no different.”
Ralph acknowledged the challenges her team faced in the second half but emphasized the importance of finding ways to win.
“We played really well in the first half. Our offense stalled a little bit. We had some defensive mishaps in the second half, but we figured out a way to win,” she said. “And when you’re a great team, you gotta do that. You gotta grind it out sometimes.”
The coach also took a moment to recognize the significance of the homecoming for her New Jersey natives.
“I can tell you without these two right here, the Jersey natives coming home, there’s no way our program or our team this year would be in the position that it’s in,” Ralph said. “So I’m grateful to be their coach. I’m so proud of my team today for the victory and just happy to be part of this event.”
No. 5 Vanderbilt returns to Nashville to host the Auburn Tigers on Thursday night at 7:30 PM ET/6:30 PM CT.
