Blakes and Galvan each finished with 30 points or more
No. 5 Vanderbilt Puts it Together
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The No. 5 Vanderbilt Commodores have been searching for a complete game for a while now, and tonight they found it. Coming into a nationally televised matchup with No. 10 Oklahoma, I personally thought this would be a good battle, and with the Sooners coming in off a bye week, they should have been fresh, but the Dores came out and looked better than they have in a while from the opening tip. The plan of moving the ball around to find a great shot was clear, and they were on fire.
Vanderbilt was able to take this game from the jump and disrupted everything OU wanted to do. Ball movement was on point, inside and out opened up the floor, and Aubrey Galvan went to work early.
By the first media timeout, the Dores were leading 17-9 and shooting 58% from the field. Galvan was hot and could not miss with her mid-range shot. By the end of the first, she had 11 and the Dores led the Sooners 31-19. Vanderbilt worked to get inside touches and did not settle for ill-advised shots. That is something Coach Shea Ralph had spoken on last week, and they got the message.
I asked Coach Ralph after the game how it felt to finally put together a game from start to finish, and she was pleased but noted there is still room for improvement.
“I thought our shot selection was better in the first half. I thought, you know, when we see shots go in, obviously it’s better, like everybody loves it, right? But you can’t not make shots and then give up easy buckets, which I thought we did a little bit of in the third quarter, but they also have a really strong transition game. So when we’re not taking great shots, it lends to transition buckets,” Ralph said.
“I thought we did a much better job today of being patient, taking our shots, our high percentage shots for our kids that go in, getting the ball inside and out. I thought we did a much better job rebounding. And then it just sets us up for success, right? Because when we do that, then we can at least set our defense and make it a little tougher for them to get a good shot. Which to me is exactly how we want to play.”
On the defensive end, Vanderbilt did a much better job on perimeter defense. Oklahoma shot a cold 11% early from three, and their star freshman Aaliyah Chavez was held to two points in the first quarter. Chavez also picked up two early fouls that came from trying to simply guard Mikayla Blakes and Aubrey Galvan. Chavez ended the night with 14 points but was 0-for-11 from three-point range, and the Sooners as a whole were just 2-for-24 from beyond the arc.
Afterwards, I asked Sooners Head Coach Jennie Baranczyk a reason for the poor shooting performance, and there were no easy answers.
“I wish I knew. You know, I wish I knew. Honestly, I think some of our looks were pretty good looks. We gotta be able to knock those down, especially on the road, especially at a place like this, when you’re playing against such a good team,” said Baranczyk. “We’ve gotta be able to knock those down, and we’re gonna go back and we’re going to hold on to some of those. So I thought early on we settled for some and we needed to get it into the paint a little bit more.”
Even with that said, the Sooners did finish with 48 points in the paint to the Commodores’ 24. But shooting eight percent from beyond the arc, and the volume they attempted, kind of takes you out of the game. Especially when the opposing team is firing at will and converting.
Both Blakes and Galvan were in the zone and cooking. They were as comfortable as you would want to be on the court. Galvan led the team in scoring for a good part of the first half before Mikayla Blakes went to work. Oklahoma had all kinds of trouble keeping up and doing anything effective to slow them down, and the work they were able to do without the ball put Oklahoma in spots they were not happy to be in. Blakes went to the half with a game-high 23 points, with Galvan just behind at 17.
While Blakes and Galvan worked a lot of close to mid-range opportunities, Justine Pissott fired 80 percent from three, shooting 4-for-5, and was perfect from the free throw line.
The Commodores had no slow pace about them tonight, whether it was in the half court or in transition, they moved with quickness and authority. Vanderbilt was able to balloon their lead by as much as 26 in the first half, and Coach Ralph was able to get her bench some good minutes against this top 10 Oklahoma team.
By halftime, every player on the active roster had registered time on the floor, but not necessarily by choice. Foul trouble forced her to go deep into the bench, but she stated after the game that she was confident in whoever came in due to great practices.
“I think the other thing I thought today was really good was we got lots of contributions from people you guys hadn’t seen in a long time, and we needed it,” said Ralph. “We got in early foul trouble with our bigs and we had to put some big bodies in there and they came in and really did a good job. So another great team win.”
Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda played with something extra tonight. The defensive and offensive hustle was phenomenal, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds, and her work on the boards led this Commodores squad. Vanderbilt didn’t win the rebounding advantage as a team, but it wasn’t due to a lack of grit and want to. They battled, and some that were not brought in were long rebounds. It happens.
Mikayla Blakes was able to reach 30 points with four minutes remaining in the third quarter. Her work tonight was relentless, and she finished with 34 points on the night. Aubrey Galvan was money from the field, and tonight was her best game yet in her freshman season. She really should be in consideration as the best freshman in the SEC. She finished the night with 30 points, a career high, and she was as comfortable as she has been all season.
Both Blakes and Galvan spoke after the game on what they saw and how they were both able to have 30-plus point nights.
“Just really taking what the defense gave us. I think it’s really hard to stop the both of us when both of us are going,” said Mikayla Blakes. “I think we just didn’t really force anything. We were just trying to be in the flow of the game.”
Galvan looked at it as them playing basketball and knocking down whatever shots came to them.
“I’m used to it. Like I used to be more of a scorer in high school and stuff. I guess it’s just solely with the flow of the game, I know the shots that my team needs me to take,” she said. “Not to force anything, but the shots that are there. I’m just seeing probably more now as the season’s going on.”
The Sooners fouled a ton and that enabled Vanderbilt to take 31 shots from the line, which they converted 25. Coach Baranczyk talked about how that affected the flow of the game.
“Well, we needed to communicate through our foul trouble. I mean, we had a lot of fouls. Like, you can’t go on the road and give up 31 free throws. Like, you can’t do that. You can’t try to foul jump shooters,” she said.
There was a lot that went right for Vanderbilt in this game, and for Oklahoma, it just wasn’t their night. This Vanderbilt team seems to have found their momentum, and the results are starting to match the work. That’s great to see, and you hope they can keep it going.
This is all a part of the vision that Ralph and the team are working day by day to accomplish. Next up is the Texas Longhorns on Thursday night, and it will be another test that the Dores will have to lock in and pass.
“I’m really proud of them. What we’re trying to do here is just be relentless in our quest to improve. Continuous improvement. The goal is to win, but I want us to be consistent in the work, showing up every day and working, being diligent,” said Ralph. “Constant effort. Intelligent effort so that we can put ourselves in position not only to win, but ultimately to be the best possible team we can be at the right time.”
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