Blakes Drops 38 as Vanderbilt Makes Program History with 18-0 Start
Vanderbilt Battles Past Mississippi State for Program-Best 18-0 Record
Tonight in Starkville, Mississippi, the No. 5-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores women’s basketball team arrived on the brink of the program’s best start in history at 18-0. On the other side were the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who came in off of three tough losses and would have loved nothing more than to pull off the biggest upset of the week, but that did not happen as Vanderbilt defeated the Bulldogs 89-84, but it was a battle.
Mississippi State came out early and established a presence on the offensive glass and in the paint. Favour Nwaedozi came in averaging 13.1 points with 10.2 rebounds a game, but foul trouble sent her to the bench often tonight. She would finish with 14 and six rebounds in 20 minutes after fouling out late.
However, the Bulldogs brought physicality and intensity on both sides. Freshman Madison Francis and Kharyssa Richardson were able to penetrate and get shots at the rim. Mississippi State held an 18-8 paint points advantage in the first half. State was also able to find themselves open for some three point makes. They moved it well and looked ready for the task early on.
One big reason for their success was Richardson’s ability to run the floor and attack the lane. She provided a spark for Mississippi State in the first half, especially when Nwaedozi picked up her second foul. Coach Shea Ralph addressed those things after the game.
“I think the game was super physical. I think they did a good job of being physical, but that’s not any different than we’ve seen before. We just have to learn how to play through that better. I also thought we didn’t do a great job defending their straight line drives and rebounding. That’s been, again, not something new. They capitalized on that.”
Vanderbilt would go into the half with a 36-35 lead, thanks to an Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda three-pointer as time expired. The Commodores needed to make some halftime adjustments, especially in the turnover department. Vanderbilt totaled nine in the first half, some coming on errant passes and forced entry attempts into the paint.
Give credit to Mississippi State for playing tight defense there, but hat changed, as they only committed four in the second half.
Blakes did the work, putting up 16 in the opening half on 5-of-11 shooting and 4-for-4 from the line. Mississippi State was pesky, but Blakes found ways as usual to get her points. Good luck guarding her one-on-one or trying to force her to a weak side. Mikayla Blakes can go either way and find a way to score.
Vanderbilt came out with a bigger lineup in the second half, and that approach worked after everything panned out. Mississippi State’s Richardson and Trayanna Crisp went to the outside and hit a couple of threes coming out of the break.
However, Vanderbilt flipped the paint advantage in the second half with some second-chance opportunities, and with good production from the bigs with Sacha Washington who contributed nine points with seven rebounds, and Aiyana Mitchell who would score 10 on the night with eight rebounds. That was a huge factor in the way the second half moved.
This game was a battle. Mississippi State did a good job of finding open space and getting high-percentage shots and never just went away. The Bulldogs had several contributors with no one or two players doing it all, but Vanderbilt finally put some space between them at the end of the third, going on a 21-6 run to take a 66-55 lead heading to the fourth.
Mikayla Blakes showed once again why she is who she is. Blakes posted her fifth 30-point game of the season, and when Mississippi State went on a 9-0 run midway through the fourth, she stepped up with a big three to push the lead back to seven. You could see Blakes really letting the game come to her and capitalizing on the opportunities. She finished with 38 points, seven assists, and five rebounds.
That was Mikayla Blakes’ 37th consecutive double-digit scoring game. That is the longest active streak in the SEC and the third-longest in all of NCAA Division I.
“It’s never not good to know that I have Mikayla Blakes, and I never worry about her in these situations. Whenever she’s on the floor, I always feel really, really great about our chances to win the basketball game.”
Blakes just went to work as she always does, but this was a great team effort. Aiyana Mitchell was huge, Justine Pissott was big as she had another double digit night and four threes made. This team fought and found a tough SEC win on the road.
Tonight’s win feels better to me, not because of the historic 18-0 start, but because Vanderbilt was faced with challenges and found a way to battle through it. As the season goes on, games like this will show up more and more. When asked after the game how important a night like tonight was, Ralph made it clear.
“I think it’s hugely important. You can work on things as much as you want to, but until your kids are in that situation in real life, and you can’t huddle up for three or four minutes, and you can’t stop them every time they make a mistake, and they just have to figure it out, especially on the road is huge. It’s huge for our confidence. It’s huge for our growth,” said Ralph after the game.
The Commodores will head to Newark, NJ to face the No. 8-ranked Michigan Wolverines on Monday at the Coretta Scott King Classic. This will be another huge opportunity for Vanderbilt to continue their impressive start, and continue their build towards March.
Stay tuned to Vanderbilt Commodores Women’s Basketball news and stories here at Mays Sports Media.
Featured Image Credit: Vanderbilt Athletics
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