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By Cory Nightingale
Published:
Mikayla Blakes is having a historical sophomore season for No. 5 Vanderbilt, and the dazzling guard wrote another chapter in her crusade on Sunday afternoon in a thrilling 81-79 victory over No. 16 Kentucky at Memorial Gym.
The New Jersey native played all 40 minutes and made them all count, pouring in 35 points along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, filling the stat sheet while securing a place in SEC women’s basketball history. According to ESPN Insights, Blakes became the first SEC player this century to register 10 30-point games in a single season.
So, Sunday’s incredible performance was only the latest for the 5-foot-8 Blakes, who helped Vandy rally from a 4-point deficit after the 3rd quarter. Blakes led the Commodores across the finish line at home against another ranked team, helping Vanderbilt improve to 25-3 overall and 11-3 in the SEC. The Commodores are tied for 2nd in the league with Texas, and they have Blakes to thank for a lot of that.
ANOTHER MIKAYLA BLAKES MASTERCLASS 🔥
Blakes is the first SEC player this century with 10 30-point games in a season 😳 pic.twitter.com/VWziKkAc2L
Blakes is averaging over 26 points per game this season, to go with 3.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists on almost 46% shooting. She’s also shining on the defensive end, averaging 3 steals per contest.
She’s taken her game up a few notches from last season, which wasn’t bad either, when Blakes averaged 23.3 points per game along with 3.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.4 steals.
Blakes came back to Vandy this season and has rattled off all of those 30-point games, with 8 of her 10 30-point games coming against SEC teams, capped by Sunday’s supreme effort.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
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