KNOXVILLE ― Two years ago, Mikayla Blakes committed to Vanderbilt women’s basketball during a FaceTime call as the Commodores were on the bus ride back to Nashville.
They had lost to the Lady Vols in Knoxville, and Blakes thought she could be a difference-maker the next time around against Tennessee.
As it turned out, that was an understatement.
No. 5 Vanderbilt (27-3, 13-3 SEC) beat Tennessee 87-77 on March 1, only its second win ever in Knoxville. It was the Commodores’ third straight win over Tennessee. The first was at home, where Blakes had the game-winning tip-in; the second was in the SEC Tournament.
That was the first time in program history that the Commodores had defeated Tennessee twice in the same season. But they still had to prove they are now the superior program in the state: Win in Knoxville.
Blakes helped do that, too. She scored 34 points, hit six 3-pointers and added six rebounds and four assists as Vanderbilt secured the No. 2 seed in the March 4-8 SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina.
“(Blakes) knew where we were going, and so did we,” Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph said. “She wanted to be part of that, and we knew we couldn’t and didn’t want to do it without her. So what it means is that we’re going in the right direction. When she came here to leave a legacy, to do the uncommon thing, to do things that Vanderbilt that has never been done before.
“She came here to win championships, and along the way, you have to accomplish things like this, things that we haven’t done in a long time . . . So now we’ve just got to put our heads down and continue to do the work every single day so that we can keep moving this forward.”
Entering the season, there was uncertainty around the Commodores. Blakes was their only returning starter. Sacha Washington was coming off a missed season due to blood clots. They were starting a freshman point guard, Aubrey Galvan, and Justine Pissott, who had seen minimal playing time the previous two years after transferring from the Lady Vols.
Galvan and Washington ended up playing huge roles against Tennessee. Galvan scored 24 points and made four 3-pointers, putting up four rebounds and five assists. Washington scored 16 and had eight rebounds and two assists. The Lady Vols’ top-ranked freshman class couldn’t hold up to Galvan’s performance.
Vanderbilt had a slow first half, down six points after the Lady Vols went on a run in the second quarter. But it outscored Tennessee 30-15 in the fourth to get some breathing room.
“Coming out of the locker room at halftime, I saw them huddled up talking,” Ralph said. “They’re different, they’re a special team. Now, what I have to figure out is how we turn that switch on at the beginning of the game and we leave it on the whole game. So I would love to see that, and we’ve had a couple of games like that. But this team, I’m telling you, this team, is special, and every single opportunity I get to coach them, they remind me of that.”
Vanderbilt was the top No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s latest update, and barring a long run in the SEC Tournament, that’s likely where the Commodores will stay. Tennessee, losers of nine of 11, are likely a No. 7 or 8 seed.
Blakes not only called her shot January 2024 when she identified herself as the piece that could help Vanderbilt beat Tennessee — she undersold it. She was the piece that made Vanderbilt the dominant program in the state, and she proved it on the court.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X @aria_gerson.
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