Five in Double Figures: Vanderbilt Shows Depth in Blowout Win Over Mizzou
Complete Team Effort: No. 6 Vanderbilt Dominates Missouri 99-68 as Five Players Hit Double Figures
Last night, No. 6 Vanderbilt Commodores Women’s Basketball returned to Memorial Gymnasium to take on the Missouri Tigers. The Commodores took a 31-point SEC win over the Tigers by the score of 99-68. Not only have the Commodores had a great season so far, but this week alone has been monumental with Sunday’s upset win over then-No. 5 LSU Tigers.
Mikayla Blakes is a well-known star guard who has gained everyone’s attention after showing that she can turn it on and dominate a game when it’s needed most. Last night she had a long, slow start, and that helped answer some questions. Here are the big questions that were answered last night: Are the Commodores a complete team? What happens if Blakes has an off night? And how did they handle the success of a huge win?
Vanderbilt didn’t start out the fastest. Missouri was able to stay right in the game for most of the first half until Vanderbilt went on a 14-2 run to close the half. After the break, it was all Commodores. Five players finished in double figures, all with 15 points or more. Sacha Washington was a beast in the paint. Washington came in averaging 9.4 points per game with 7.3 rebounds per game and posted 15 points and 16 rebounds over the Tigers. Also, speaking of paint production, the ‘Dores dominated with a 54-22 advantage.
After the game, she answered the team’s mindset of coming off big wins such as Sunday, and really the everyday mindset there in the program.
“Just take it one day at a time. I mean, Sunday was Sunday and then Monday was Monday, Tuesday was Tuesday. So I mean, just taking it one day at a time, like celebrate when it’s time to celebrate and get serious when it’s time to get serious. So I think that’s what we do.”
Being able to withstand your star player’s off night shows a maturity level of the team and also shows that Vanderbilt is more than a player or two. This team spread it around. As already mentioned, five were in double figures, including Mikayla Blakes, who managed to finish with a team-high 20 points late in the game.
If you’re thinking that this team isn’t solid across the board, you’re very wrong. Shea Ralph spoke on not having to worry about a player having an off night.
“That’s the game of basketball. And every night’s not gonna be your night. But if you have a great team, then you don’t have to worry about it. It might be someone else’s night. So our energy can change, our attitudes can change, and we have to play team basketball in order to accomplish the things that we want to accomplish this year,” said Head Coach Shea Ralph.
Commodore guard Justine Pissott was an early spark for the Commodores, with a hot hand from beyond the arc. She also showed her inside game, using her 6’4″ frame and good work in the paint to grab seven rebounds as well. Pissott finished with 15 points and afterwards spoke on the complete output of the team.
“It’s pretty cool. I mean, I think we need to be a little more consistent in doing that. Like we can’t always rely on Mikayla in situations like that, but I mean, sometimes Mikayla’s gonna have to take over a game like she did on Sunday. Um, but it was great to see the rest of the starters do what they do,” said Pissott.
From my view last night, this was a complete game from a complete team. Things weren’t always great in the beginning, but they turned it into a 31-point win and put up 99 points doing it. To me, that says complete. This is the SEC. Teams are good and will challenge you, and when you can spread it around to several players, it makes you harder to stop.
Aubrey Galvan was huge with 19 points, four assists, and five steals. Her court presence and vision matched with her skill is not freshman-like. Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda added 15 points and three steals. She was another key player on the boards and defensively. On offense, Mwenentanda looked comfortable out on the floor, and it showed. Points inside and out of the paint, and not just easy chances either. Mizzou head coach Kellie Harper spoke to the toughness of facing a team like this afterwards.
“The challenge is, you’ve got a superstar that you’ve got to guard one on one. And she’s proved time to time again, you can’t guard her one on one. So if you start helping off, you start trying to figure out how you’re going to guard her, you’re going to start leaving people open who are really good scorers, and you decide you want to guard the three, they can score in the paint and you decide you want to pack in, then score from the three. I just think they have really good balance,” said Harper.
Vanderbilt heads on the road to College Station, Texas, to face the Aggies on Sunday at 2 PM CT on SEC Network+.
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