Dores’ Comeback Complete – Vanderbilt Commodores

No. 5/6 Vanderbilt erases a 15-point deficit in an 82-66 victory over Florida at Memorial Gymnasium
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – All-American Mikayla Blakes posted her sixth 30-point performance of the season, scoring exactly 30 points on Sunday afternoon to help the No. 5/6-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team post an 82-66 come-from-behind win against Florida at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Dores stormed back from a 15-point deficit against the Gators to improve to 21-2 overall on the year and 7-2 in SEC play.
It is the second time this season that Vandy has collected a double-digit comeback victory. The Commodores also erased a 16-point deficit in the first quarter to BYU at the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam on Nov. 29. The 15-point come-from-behind win over Florida is tied for the fourth-largest comeback victory for the Dores since 2013-14.
Blakes’ 30-point performance extends her double-digit scoring streak to 42 games, the longest active streak in the SEC and the third-longest in NCAA Division I. It is the 18th time this year that the Somerset, New Jersey, native registered 20 or more points in a game. Blakes has now scored 20-plus points in each of her last four outings.
Vandy found itself down 25-10 in the early stages of the second quarter. The Dores chipped away at the deficit and pulled to within two points of the Gators with three minutes remaining before halftime, but Florida went on a 7-0 run at the end of the stanza to take a 34-25 lead over the Commodores into the break.
After the Gators opened the third quarter with a basket to take an 11-point lead, Vanderbilt used a 15-3 run to claim its first lead of the contest after a layup from freshman Aubrey Galvan at the 4:21 mark of the third. After trading baskets, Vanderbilt scored 11-straight points late in the third to take a double-digit lead at 54-44. Galvan capped off the frame with a 3-point field goal just feet in front of the half-court line to give the Dores an 11-point lead going into the final frame.
Vandy maintained a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the contest, as the Dores led by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter before claiming the 16-point victory.
Blakes was one of three Commodores to score double figures on Sunday, as graduate Sacha Washington and senior Justine Pissott each tallied 14 points each. Washington also paced the Dores with a six-rebound effort while Pissott had a game-high four 3-pointers.
Vanderbilt shot 50.8 percent from the field on Sunday, while the Commodores made 11 3-pointers. The forced Florida into 23 turnovers, which Vandy turned into 33 points. The Dores also held a 15-4 edge in points off the bench, as junior Aga Makurat tallied nine points in a reserve role.
Head Coach Shea Ralph on the Result
“It was a long week. Those (previous) two games were tough and against really good teams that played really hard. But those are the games that are going to make us better, and we just have to approach it that way. You learn a lot when you fail, and I think the last week, in a lot of ways, taught us many, many lessons that we wouldn’t have been able to learn in any other way. Now, I wish we had learned it before the second half today, but the response that I saw, and the way that we finished the game, were huge in terms of the growth that we need from here on out to the end of the season.
“Also, I have to say the crowd was amazing. Thank you to Commodores Nation. I know it’s super icy. I know we’re all still dealing with it, but that was an enormous uplifting thing to have. There are kids still out there waiting for them to sign autographs. That’s the kind of environment we need, and we really want, so thank you for making today special.”
Up Next
The No. 5/6 Commodores head back out on the road on Thursday, as Vanderbilt heads north to take on No. 18/18-ranked Kentucky. Tipoff against the Wildcats is set for 6 p.m. CT and streams live on SEC Network+ inside the ESPN app.
Dore Notes
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