GREENVILLE, SC – Shea Ralph watched most of the fourth quarter against Ole Miss from the locker room at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 6.
The Vanderbilt women’s basketball coach got ejected 35 seconds into the fourth quarter after arguing a foul call on star guard Mikayla Blakes. Ralph was nearly halfway across the court yelling at the officials before she got ejected.
But when she got to the locker room and turned the TV on, she watched the No. 2 seed Commodores turn the tide of the game that was heading toward a blowout. Despite losing 89-78 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, Ralph said she loved the fight her team showed after her ejection.
“I mean, I wasn’t trying to get kicked out. I think I know where I was on the court, but I also think that at that time, what I said was warranted, and the action that I took was warranted, and I’ll stand behind that,” Ralph said. “You want to kick me out for it, then they can kick me out … There’s only so many ways you can say something over and over again. So I said it differently, and I got kicked out, which is fine, first time in my career.
“What I saw from my team was maybe the coolest thing that’s happened all year, in terms of the fight that they showed, the togetherness, the huddles, just the way that they responded was really special.”
When Ralph was asked to expand on why she thought her reaction was warranted, she said, “Uh-uh, no ma’am, don’t try to get me fined. (Vanderbilt) Candice (Storey Lee), I’m not gonna get fined, I promise.”
“As coaches, we just want consistency from our team, from our staff, from everybody that’s involved in the game of basketball, just consistency,” Ralph said. “That’s it. It’s all I’m looking for and respect.”
When Ralph got ejected, Vanderbilt had cut Ole Miss’ lead to 22 points after trailing by 32 in the third quarter. The Rebels went on a 6-0 run after Ralph’s ejection, but then the Commodores responded with a 15-0 run of their own and cut the deficit to 13 points.
After only scoring 17 points in the first half, Vanderbilt made it a game down the stretch.
“Coach Ralph comes in and fights for us every day,” said Sacha Washington, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. “So when she got ejected, I know personally, I didn’t want to do anything else but fight for her, fight for our team.”
The Commodores’ first-half performance was shockingly poor and didn’t resemble the team that finished tied for second in the SEC. They only scored six points in the first quarter and trailed 49-17 at halftime. Blakes and Aubrey Galvan combined for two points on 0-for-14 shooting with zero rebounds or assists in the first half.
Then Vanderbilt outscored Ole Miss 24-16 in the third. And after Ralph’s ejection, it outscored the Rebels 37-24 in the fourth. Blakes finished with 24 points and shot 8-for-17 in the second half, and Galvan ended with 18 points on 7-for-16 shooting.
“I also thought, you know, she was fouled,” Ralph said of Blakes’ first half. “She was being held, and there’s only so many ways you can respond to that. So what I know about her is that she is going to fight to win the game. Never count her or us out. And that kid fought until the very end, because that is who she is.”
