KNOXVILLE — Mikayla Blakes scored 34 points to lead the fifth-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team to an 87-77 victory against in-state rival Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference regular-season finale for both teams Sunday.
Blakes, who also had six rebounds, four assists and two steals (but also six turnovers), scored eight points in a 12-2 run late in the third quarter for the Commodores (27-3, 13-3 SEC). Aubrey Galvan added 24 points and five assists, while Sacha Washington had 16 points and eight rebounds for the visitors at Thompson-Boling Arena, where a crowd of 12,037 was on hand.
Shea Ralph, who is in her fifth season as Vanderbilt’s coach, called capping the regular season with a win at Tennessee “really special” but said she “can’t wait to see what’s next” with March just getting started.
Kim Caldwell, in her second season as Tennessee’s coach, said the Commodores are a “phenomenal team” and deserving of their high ranking.
“You can’t have that many lapses against them and come away with a victory,” Caldwell said. “Especially in the third quarter.”
The Lady Volunteers (16-12, 8-8), who have lost six straight games and nine of their past 11, were led by Talaysia Cooper’s 23 points. Janiah Barker added 17 with eight rebounds, Nya Robertson scored 12 and Zee Spearman chipped in 10.
Cooper, who finished with three steals and as many assists, scored 11 points in the second quarter as part of her 14 in the opening half to help Tennessee to a 43-37 lead at the break. Barker led the way with 15 points to that point for Tennessee, while Galvan had 12 and Blakes 11 for the Commodores in the same stretch.
While Tennessee, which is playing the toughest schedule in the country, came into the game unranked, Blakes has a streak of five consecutive games against ranked teams scoring 30 or more points.
It’s been a remarkable winter for the Commodores, whose 13 SEC wins are their most in any season in program history. They finished second in the league standings behind third-ranked South Carolina (29-2, 15-1), and as one of the top four seeds for the SEC tournament, they received a double bye into Friday’s quarterfinals at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
Vanderbilt’s opponent in its 6 p.m. matchup that day will be either seventh-seeded, 19th-ranked Ole Miss (21-10, 8-8), which has a bye into Thursday’s second round, 10th-seeded Texas A&M (14-11, 7-9) or 15th-seeded Auburn (14-16, 3-13). The latter two teams meet in Wednesday’s opening round.
“I love my team,” Ralph said in a Vanderbilt release. “I’m having such a fun time this year. I don’t remember the last time I’ve had this much fun coaching. They are a really good basketball team, obviously. They’re coachable, but I feel like every time we come play a game, whether we’re home or away, no matter the circumstances, we learn something, we grow, and we figure out a way to win. The times we haven’t, we’ve grown from.”
As the No. 6 seed, Tennessee has a bye into the second round and is set to play Thursday’s final game in Greenville at 8:30 p.m., taking on the winner of Wednesday’s pairing of 11th-seeded, 24th-ranked Alabama (21-9, 7-9) and No. 14 seed Missouri (16-15, 4-12). The Lady Vols faced each of those teams once in the regular season and came out on top in both games, 70-59 at Alabama on Jan. 18 as the sixth win in a streak of seven at that point, and 98-53 at Missouri on Feb. 12 in their most recent victory.
If Tennessee wins, the Lady Vols will play again at 8:3o p.m. Friday, facing third-seeded, fourth-ranked Texas (28-3, 13-3).
“It’s go time,” Caldwell said. “March is when you want to be playing your best basketball. Regardless of what our record has been, I do think that we are showing some improvements in some areas. We need to continue to put it together, need to continue to take those lapses away, work on that. I think I have a team full of individuals that will be ready to go in March.”
In addition to South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Texas, sixth-ranked LSU (26-4, 12-4), the No. 4 seed, won’t play until the quarterfinals.
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