Blakes and Galvan Power Vanderbilt to Regular Season Finale Win at Tennessee
Vanderbilt Has Special “It” Factor
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The regular season finale took the No. 5 Vanderbilt Commodores to Rocky Top for the in-state rival matchup with the struggling Lady Vols. This marked the first time since the 1984-85 season where this matchup has involved a ranked Vandy team and an unranked Lady Vols team.
The Dores pulled out the 87-77 win and earned the program’s second win all-time in Knoxville. This team is special, and they have the “It” that great teams possess to take what looks to be a challenging game and turn it into a double-digit win by the time it is all said and done.
“I definitely feel like my team has that. They have it,” said Vanderbilt Head Coach Shea Ralph. “They know they have it, even coming out of the locker room at halftime, I saw them huddled up talking. They’re different. They’re a special team.”
This is nothing new this season for the Commodores. They have often gone to the half either trailing or close, just to make the game look much different after the break. Today in Knoxville was no different, as the Dores went to the half down 43-37. Tennessee’s Janiah Barker and Talaysia Cooper were having great halves and allowed the Lady Vols to even be in the game, honestly.
After the break, we saw Vanderbilt do what they have normally done this season. They turned a first-half tussle into a 10-point win, all due to the adjustments and the special talents of this team.
You have to start with the National Player of the Year candidate, Mikayla Blakes. Blakes dropped 23 second-half points to finish with 34. That was her 12th 30-point game of the season, and it also made her the first player this century to average 30 points per game in SEC play.
She has the special “It” factor that the best players have, and I believe Blakes is more than just the best. She knows how to fight and compete, and she knows how to stick a dagger in you when she feels it is time.
“Mikayla Blakes is a relentless competitor. Most of the things that she has within her, I don’t coach that. She has it inside of her. And I say this every time you guys ask me a question about her, you’re witnessing something really special. Yeah, she had 34, but her biggest buckets were when we had to have them,” said Ralph.
Every time Tennessee tried to draw within striking range of the Commodores, Blakes would drop a three or take it to the rim. She knows how to fend off pressure in big moments, and that is very special. Tennessee drew within five in the fourth quarter, and then it was off to the races for Blakes and the Dores.
“Her biggest moments in this game were when we had to have them. That kid shows up every time. You know how hard that is to do? There were a lot of times as a player, and I was a good one, that I didn’t. That wasn’t the case for me, but she has something different inside of her. The team trusts her. We trust her.”
She has something different inside of her for sure, and her partner that runs the offense, Aubrey Galvan, does as well. Galvan, in her first ever visit to Knoxville, dropped 24 with five assists, four rebounds, and two steals in 40 minutes. Aub the Baller just continues to show up in big moments also, and she’s just a freshman.
In a great environment, Galvan never felt any pressure. She brought a complete game, and most importantly, she took care of the ball considering Tennessee’s press tactic during the game. She finished with just three turnovers, and that shows her focus and growth throughout the season.
“She sees things, she communicates them, she’ll look for some guidance, but then when she plays freely is when she’s at her best,” said Ralph.
After Galvan figured out the pace of everything and the flow of the game, she really took off.
“If she gets loose off ball screens, we move the ball and she gets open threes with her feet set. She starts to make a couple of those little floaters in the lane. You know, she’s feeling really good about where she’s at. I don’t worry too much about her because she’s unbothered.”
To finish off the day, Galvan drained her fourth three-pointer of the game with 13 seconds remaining, as a goodbye to the Knoxville crowd that had begun filing out of the arena. What was once a building with hope ended in disappointment for the sixth consecutive Tennessee loss.
For Vanderbilt, they finished the deal and locked up the No. 2 seed for the SEC Tournament. It was also Coach Shea Ralph’s 100th career win as a head coach, and Sacha Washington’s 100th win as she has been with Ralph from the start at Vanderbilt.
Washington had a strong game and finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, and dominated on defense whether it was in the paint or hopping out to guard on the ball. Whatever this team needs, Sacha is willing to do it. That is another contagious characteristic of this Vanderbilt team.
Now, on to Greenville, S.C., for the SEC Tournament. Vanderbilt still hasn’t played their best ball yet, and that is fine because it is March. This is when the best shine, and the Commodores will have great opportunities to continue showing their special “It” factor.
Comments 1