Why Vanderbilt women's basketball is better equipped to advance in March Madness – The Tennessean

Vanderbilt women’s basketball had a goal coming into the season to host March Madness games at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Commodores (27-4) exceeded that goal. With a top-four seed needed to host, Vanderbilt instead secured a 2-seed and will host No. 15 seed High Point (27-5) at Memorial Gymnasium on March 21 (6 p.m. CT, ESPNews).
After a 10-year drought, the Commodores have now made three NCAA tournaments in a row. But they failed to get out of the round of 64 in either of those previous tournaments. In 2024, Vanderbilt was a First Four team, and in 2025, it lost as a 7-seed in the first round. However the Commodores are undefeated at home this season, and playing at Memorial Gymnasium gives them a shot to get to the Sweet Sixteen.
“While I would like it to happen faster, I think it’s been happening exactly as it should have,” Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph said. “And if there isn’t anywhere else that I want to be, the way that the path has gone, ups and downs, I think it teaches our players and it reminds our staff and hopefully the people that are watching us. So sometimes it takes a lot of hard work, perseverance, determination, commitment to really achieving great things. And if it were easy, lots of other people would be doing it.”
If Vanderbilt defeats High Point, it will face 7-seed Illinois or 10-seed Colorado. Looking further ahead, the Commodores could match up with UConn, where Ralph was a longtime player and assistant for coach Geno Auriemma, in the Elite Eight.
Sacha Washington has been on the team through its first losing seasons under Shea Ralph to its first NCAA bid in 2024 to now. In her final season of college basketball, the chance is there for her to end her career on top.
“This past week has been the least stressful week of my life,” Washington said. “I’ve been in practice just like, OK, guys, let’s just fine tune some things. We don’t have to worry so it’s definitely more of a really relaxing feeling no coming in here, knowing that we’re definitely in and we’re definitely hosting.”
For Mikayla Blakes, the SEC Player of the Year, this is a chance to avenge her performance from last year’s 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament. Vanderbilt lost 77-73 in overtime. Blakes scored 26 points in 42 minutes played before fouling out shortly after the start of overtime. This season, she hasn’t fouled out of a single game.
But Blakes still has limited March Madness experience, and so does freshman point guard Aubrey Galvan. The SEC Freshman of the Year, Galvan got better down the stretch of the season. Last year, Blakes said, the team was looking ahead to future games in March. That, she said, won’t happen this time around.
“(Galvan) treats every game like it’s a big game,” Blakes said. “So I feel like it’s no difference for her. It’s March Madness, but we’re going to treat it like it’s a regular game. Yeah, you can get excited, but I’m going to still treat her like my starting point guard.”
Vanderbilt does have one player with Final Four experience, Texas transfer Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda. Last year, Mwenentanda was in the starting lineup for the Longhorns’ Final Four game against South Carolina, recording seven points and five rebounds.
All that’s left to do now is get it done and advance in the tournament.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X @aria_gerson.
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