In the fourth quarter of Friday’s SEC women’s basketball tournament quarterfinal vs. Ole Miss, Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph was ejected. She was upset with a call and walked onto the court to argue with the officials, resulting in her ejection with 9:25 to play.
Ralph was clearly unhappy after a foul was called on Mikayla Blakes as she dove for a loose ball. Ralph then walked to the top of the key to argue with the referees, which led to her quick ejection from the game.
Vanderbilt was in the midst of a frustrating quarterfinal matchup against Ole Miss. The No. 2-seeded Commodores trailed the No. 7-seeded Rebels by as many as 32 points after a rough start to Friday’s game.
Vanderbilt put together a strong run through the regular season, going 27-3 overall and 13-3 in SEC play. The Commodores had the tiebreaker over Texas in the standings, meaning they headed to Greenville as the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
Shea Ralph brought home SEC Coach of the Year this season as Vanderbilt brought home a slew of awards. Blakes brought home SEC Player of the Year while Aubrey Galvan brought home Freshman of the Year honors. Speaking with reporters earlier this week, Ralph said Coach of the Year isn’t an individual honor. It took the whole group to win the award.
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“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I know that usually the teams that win are the ones that are going to get this award,” Ralph said, via The Tennesseean’s Aria Gerson. “So it’s going to sound corny, but it’s a team effort. It’s a team award.”
Since Ralph took over at Vanderbilt in 2021, the Commodores have been on an upward trajectory. They went from 12-19 in her second season in 2022-23 to 23-10 in 2023-24 to secure an NCAA Tournament appearance. Vanderbilt then returned to the dance in 2024-25 and is in prime position to get back this year, regardless of what happens in the SEC tournament.
As the No. 2 seed, Vanderbilt secured a bye into the quarterfinals of the SEC women’s basketball tournament. The Commodores drew Ole Miss, which took down Auburn on Thursday in the second round in Greenville to set up the matchup.
It was all Rebels through the first quarter on Friday as they took a 25-6 lead through the first 10 minutes. Vanderbilt started to mount a late charge after Ralph’s ejection, though, to make things interesting. However, it wasn’t enough as Ole Miss got the 89-78 upset win.
Executive Order on college sports
UNC star injured in practice
Hogs guard out vs. Mizzou
Addresses coaching future
Poised to make major impact
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