Women’s Basketball: Vanderbilt takes down Virginia, 81-68, in SEC/ACC Challenge – The Vanderbilt Hustler

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Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball returned home after its trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands last week, taking on the Virginia Cavaliers in Memorial Gym on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The Commodores dominated the contest, winning 81-68 to improve to 9-0 on the season. 
“We’re proud to represent the SEC, [and] it’s a win for our conference,” head coach Shea Ralph said postgame. “I would have liked to see us finish a little better, but I like learning much better from wins than from losses.”
It was a tight contest in the first half, as both teams exchanged quick leads through the first 20 minutes. The Commodores eventually pulled away in the second half, though, as they limited turnovers and finally got some shots to drop. 
Mikayla Blakes led the way in terms of scoring, as she dropped 28 points while also accumulating 7 assists and 7 rebounds. She also hit the 1000-point mark in this game — just the ninth player in NCAA history to achieve this feat in less than 42 games.  
Aubrey Galvan, Justine Pissott, Sacha Washington, Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda and Blakes earned the start for head coach Shea Ralph, but the fifth-year head coach did utilize a variety of subs throughout the game. 
First quarter 
Vanderbilt won the tip, and Blakes immediately found Washington under the basket for the easy layup as the Commodores got on the board first. Mwenentanda followed with a 3-pointer as the Commodores raced out to a quick 9-3 lead as Virginia called a timeout with 7:24 to stop the bleeding.  
Things remained knotted up as both teams exchanged multiple empty possessions, with Virginia finally breaking the drought with two made free throws at the 4:41 mark to bring the score to 9-5. Back-to-back buckets by Virginia’s Kymore Johnson and Paris Clark gave the Cavaliers their first lead of the game at 10-9, as the Commodores struggled to find any momentum on the offensive end with 3:51 to go in the quarter.  
After a drought of over four minutes, things began to pick back up for the Commodores as Mwenentanda and Blakes combined for back-to-back buckets to bring their deficit to 15-17. The quarter finished as Washington found a bucket around the rim to bring the score to 19-18 in favor of Virginia.  
Second quarter 
The second period started out slowly as both teams’ defenses were applying strong pressure, especially in the paint. Pissott broke the stalemate, though, as she hit a 3-pointer to give Vanderbilt the lead once again at 21-19. Virginia’s Caitlin Weimar scored on the other end before Jillian Brown gave the Cavaliers their lead back, 24-23, with 4:32 left in the half.  
Blakes was fouled, sinking both free throws, before Galvan hit a mid-range jumper to bring Vanderbilt’s lead 28-26 in this highly contested affair with 2:06 left in the quarter. Blakes continued to get to the line consistently, hitting two more free throws as time dwindled. A final pair of made free throws by Aiyana Mitchell ended the half as Vanderbilt had taken a 34-30 lead at the break.  
Blakes led the way in scoring for Vanderbilt, dropping 10 points in the first half, while Mwenentanda followed closely behind with nine. Still, the Commodores were shooting just 20% from beyond the arc and 37% from the field to mark a relatively inefficient first 20 minutes.  
Third quarter 
Vanderbilt jumped out to a quick start after Blakes knocked in two free throws and Mwenentanda hit a mid-range jumper. Virginia head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton called a timeout following this hot start for the Commodores to reset with 8:24 remaining in the quarter.  
Galvan and Clark exchanged buckets before Pissott knocked in a ball from deep to bring Vanderbilt’s lead to 43-32 as the Commodores began to pull away. Galvan splashed in a 3-pointer of her own from the left wing, but Virginia’s Gabby White responded on the other end with a driving layup. Back-to-back turnovers by the Cavaliers gave way to more Vanderbilt scoring, as Blakes extended the lead to 50-35 with 4:50 left in the quarter.  
Blakes continued to make the Cavaliers pay at the line, as she knocked in her 10th made free throw of the game before rattling home a deep ball to bring Vanderbilt’s lead to 58-41. Pissott then hit a quick 3-pointer to back it up as the quarter came to a close with the Commodores holding a firm 63-41 advantage.  
Fourth quarter 
Washington got the scoring started in the fourth quarter, knocking in an easy layup before Mwenentanda forced a turnover and earned a bucket. Virginia then scored three consecutive baskets, with Clark, Brown and Adeang Ring scoring seven points in under a minute to shrink Vanderbilt’s lead to 69-48 with 6:52 left as Ralph called a timeout.  
The Cavaliers then began to apply a full court press to slow Vanderbilt’s offense down, but it was largely unsuccessful as Blakes hit a step-back jumper to get to 24 points on the day. 
Brown hit a layup in the paint for Virginia, but it was all too late. Blakes cashed in an easy layup to reach the 1,000-point mark in her collegiate career — an impressive accomplishment for the young sophomore.  
“It’s exciting for sure, but I think there’s more to it,” Blakes said postgame of her record breaking day. “I want to do anything I can for the team, so I’m happy I scored that, but it’s also in the season and I want more wins.”
The Commodores cruised the rest of the way until the buzzer sounded, locking up yet another Power Four win in nonconference play.  
Vanderbilt will take on South Florida next in Memorial Gym on Monday, Dec. 15.  
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