Mikayla Blakes Selected Finalist For National Award: The Anchor – Sports Illustrated

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Vanderbilt women’s basketball star Mikayla Blakes may see some new hardware in the near future. Per a press release Wednesday, Blakes has been named a finalist for the Wade Trophy.
The Wade Trophy is a national award presented by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and is given to the best women’s basketball player. Blakes is joined by UConn’s Sarah Strong, UCLA’s Lauren Betts and Madison Booker of Texas.
Blakes is just the second Vanderbilt player ever to be named as a finalist for the award. Chantelle Anderson was a finalist during the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons. The award winner will be announced April 2.
Blakes has more than earned her finalist nomination. Blakes has averaged a nation-leading 27 points per game while also averaging 30 points per game during conference play. Blakes has also helped lead Vanderbilt to a program-record 27 wins this season.
Through Blakes’ exceptional season, she has helped the Commodores far surpass preseason expectations, getting up as high as No. 4 in the AP Top 25 Poll at one point. Blakes’ efforts have also been a major reason why Vanderbilt has earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament as a host site for the first two rounds.
Blakes will try to continue her magnificent season Saturday as Vanderbilt hosts No. 15 seed High Point for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
171 days
There were no games played Wednesday.
No. 5 seed Vanderbilt vs. No. 12 McNeese, Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament, 2:15 p.m. CT.
Vanderbilt women’s tennis vs. Ole Miss, 4:30 p.m. CT.
Vanderbilt track and field at the Hampton Inn River City Relays, Day 1.
Shootaround at PayCom Center pic.twitter.com/KQSRzwyvl1
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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