Vanderbilt women’s basketball got a dominating 102-61 win over No. 15 seed High Point in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament.
The Commodores wasted no time putting pressure on and burying the Panthers, starting the game up 17-2 before eventually expanding their lead to over 40 points. Vanderbilt was once against led by its star Mikayla Blakes, who finished with 30 points and broke the single season program scoring record.
With the win, Vanderbilt moved on to face off against No. 7 seed Illinois Monday night for the right to go to the Sweet 16. Following Vandebilt’s Saturday night win, Commodores’ head coach Shea Ralph spoke to the media. Here is how she opened her press conference.
“First of all, thank you guys so much for being here. What an amazing environment. We really appreciate the fact that you guys are here covering these games. Next, I just want to congratulate high point on an amazing season. They played so hard. They are so well-coached. They were a tough opponent, and I believe, if I'm correct, this is their first time being a 15-seed. Is that right? Very well earned. Very deserved. It's amazing what they have done there. So just shout out to them because I really enjoyed playing them today. They did a great job.”
“And then to my team. It was a full team effort today. We talk about that, I feel like ad nauseam this year but that's why we've gotten to this point because our team is a true team we play with great chemistry, great energy. We had an amazing environment with our community, our family and friends today that gave us extra energy. But I really love the full team effort, especially after a couple weeks off. And I'm looking forward to what tomorrow holds but we're going to celebrate this one today.”
Vanderbilt and Illinois will tipoff at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
167 days
Vanderbilt lacrosse beat Old Dominion 17-2.
Vanderbilt women’s tennis lost to No. 11 LSU 5-2.
Vanderbilt baseball lost to No. 6 Mississippi State 7-2.
No. 2 seed Vanderbilt women’s basketball beat No. 15 seed High Point 102-61.
No. 5 seed Vanderbilt men’s basketball lost to No. 4 seed Nebraska 74-72.
Vanderbilt baseball at No. 6 Mississippi State, Game 3, 1 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
Vanderbilt men’s tennis vs. No. 11 Georgia, 1 p.m. CT.
Vanderbilt soccer vs. Virginia Tech (Exhibition game in Maryville, Tenn.), 1 p.m. CT.
Vanderbilt men’s tennis vs. Eastern Kentucky, 6 p.m. CT.
Vanderbilt men’s golf at the Linger Longer Invitational, Day 3.
Memorial was rockin’ tonight
Let’s keep it rolling Monday night at 6 p.m.
🎟️ https://t.co/TTWsLNGLif pic.twitter.com/dlCNv9sQ65
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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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