Vanderbilt women’s basketball is playing for its first Sweet 16 berth since 2009.
The No. 2 seed Commodores (28-4) are facing off against No. 7 Illinois (22-11) at Memorial Gymnasium March 23 (6 p.m. CT, ESPN2), with the winner heading to Fort Worth, Texas, for the Sweet 16 in the 2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament.
The winner will taken on either No. 6 seed Notre Dame or No. 3 seed Ohio State.
Mikayla Blakes scored 30 points for Vanderbilt in the first-round 102-61 win over High Point. Illinois defeated No. 10 seed Colorado 66-57.
Here are our score updates:
Vanderbilt 85, Illinois 79
Vanderbilt will have its full roster available save Madison Greene, who is out for the season.
Saturday, March 21
Monday, March 23
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson.
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