Women’s Basketball: Three takeaways from Vanderbilt’s win over No. 4 Texas – The Vanderbilt Hustler

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No. 5 Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball took on No. 4 Texas in Memorial Gymnasium on Thursday, Feb. 12, in one of the most highly anticipated home games of the season. The Commodores secured a dominant 86-70 victory over the Longhorns, marking their second win over a top five opponent this season. 
Both teams came into this matchup on hot wins streaks, with Texas winning its last five and Vanderbilt winning its last four. The Commodores never looked back after a red-hot start, though, holding the lead for 36:16 of the total 40 minutes. Not to mention, they dropped 86 points on a Longhorns team that ranks No. 2 in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency.  
After losing to South Carolina a few weeks ago, fans and the media didn’t know if Vanderbilt was a true National Championship contender. On Thursday night, the Commodores proved that they belong in that conversation, beating a top SEC team by a staggering 16 points.  
Let’s dive into some takeaways from Vanderbilt’s dominant victory. 
Batman and Robin 
Mikayla Blakes and Aubrey Galvan are making their case as one of the best backcourts in the entire country. They’ve slowly built up unrivaled chemistry over the course of this season, and in the past several games, they’ve really begun to hit their stride. Thursday night was no different, even with the extremely high level of competition, as the pair combined for 52 points to skate by the Longhorns.  
Blakes dropped 34 points in the victory, marking her fourth-straight game of at least 30 points. She’s now the first SEC player in the last 25 seasons to drop four consecutive 30-pieces. The sophomore shot 47% from the field and 50% deep against Texas, marking a relatively efficient night for someone who puts up a high volume of shots. Her ability to drive to the rim, create her own shot and dominate in transition made her a matchup nightmare for any of Texas’s guards. She’s currently second in the odds to win National Player of the Year, but with more performances like this against the best competition, expect her to catch up to frontrunner Sarah Strong quickly.  
Galvan continues to impress as a freshman in the league, and she should also be in the running for her own award: SEC Freshman of the Year. She made her case stronger on Thursday, dropping 18 points with 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Galvan is head coach Shea Ralph’s go-to ball-handler, but she’s grown to be one of the most efficient scorers on the team, too. After dropping a season-high 30 points against No. 16 Oklahoma on Monday, she followed it up with another dominant performance over an even stronger team in Texas.  
Galvan and Blakes are the dynamic duo that keeps the Vanderbilt engine running — Batman and Robin, if you will.  
Winning on the inside 
One matchup that many expected to be important in this game was Vanderbilt’s interior presence, both on the defensive and offensive end. Texas forwards Kyla Oldacre (6’6) and Madison Booker (6’1) are known to form one of the best frontcourts in the nation — a scary task for any opposing team. Could Sacha Washington, standing at just 6’0, thrive against the size and physicality of Texas’s frontcourt?  
The short answer is yes — Washington scored 10 points with 9 rebounds. But she also got some help from some other Vanderbilt forwards in the process. Forward Aaliyah Del Rosario, who has yet to make a big impact this season, was able to play a season-high 13 minutes to provide a much stronger interior presence. Standing at 6’6, she easily matched up with Oldacre and took up space down low. Granted, her offensive scoring output was low, but she picked up four rebounds and two blocks during her limited time on the floor. Del Rosario’s development will be critical to Vanderbilt’s postseason success, as she provides a much larger frame and the necessary height to compete with the nation’s best centers.  
Vanderbilt lost by four points in the paint (36-32) but won the rebounding battle (40-37). If Vanderbilt can at least stay competitive on the inside, its backcourt and guard play will certainly carry it to success. It did plenty on Thursday to allow the duo of Blakes and Galvan to take over the ball game.  
Beating the best 
Vanderbilt proved one thing on Thursday night: It can beat the best teams in the country. The Commodores had one of the weaker nonconference slates in the country, leaving many to question whether they had what it takes to compete late into March. A loss to South Carolina by 29 points in January raised the same concerns.  
Winning in the gauntlet of the SEC week in and week out proved that Vanderbilt was a very good team, but it just wasn’t clear if they could knock off the very best, particularly ones ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll. But Vanderbilt, simply put, dominated the Longhorns, who are one of the best teams in the country. The analytics love Texas, too, as they rank in the top 10 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. No longer can anyone say that Vanderbilt isn’t a National Championship contender.  
While Ralph and Co. are certainly not focusing on the postseason quite yet, it became clear on Thursday that Vanderbilt has what it takes to make a deep run in March. From an incredible backcourt to a vastly improved frontcourt, the Commodores could easily make it to Pheonix, Arizona, to compete in the Final Four. Their current resume reflects that.  
Vanderbilt takes on Georgia on the road on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 11 a.m. CST.  
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