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No. 2-seeded Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball (29-4, 13-3 SEC) hosted No. 7-seeded Illinois (22-12, 9-9 Big Ten) in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32 March 23. The Commodores secured the win, 75-57, and punched their ticket to the program’s first Sweet 16 since 2009.
Mikayla Blakes led all scorers with 25 points, followed by Justine Pissott with 18 points. Illinois’ Berry Wallace added 18 for her squad. The Black and Gold also sealed a perfect home record at Memorial Gymnasium this season for the first time in program history. Blakes broke the NCAA all-time sophomore scoring record and was one assist short of a triple-double.
Head coach Shea Ralph opted for the same starting lineup she has used almost every game this season: Aubrey Galvan, Blakes, Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda, Pissott and Sacha Washington.
First quarter
Washington took the tip, and Vanderbilt controlled to start the game, but couldn’t convert. Illinois’ Caerah Parchment scored the first bucket of the game, and Vanderbilt responded on the other end with a Mwenentanda putback off a missed layup. Parchment was called for an offensive foul, and then Mwenentanda cashed in a 3-pointer.
Pissott nailed a pull-up jumper but was then called for a defensive foul a few possessions later. Illinois’ Aaliyah Guyton capitalized and made a layup. After a few empty possessions on either side, Blakes drew a foul and went 1-for-2 from the line, scoring her first points of the night.
Following the media timeout, Washington posted up strong and made the layup, scoring Vanderbilt’s first points in almost three minutes. Blakes scored a pull-up jumper, and Washington fouled Illinois’ Destini Jackson on the other end after multiple Illinois offensive rebounds. Jackson made both free throws.
After another Blakes layup, a Galvan jumper and a Pissott 3-pointer, Galvan picked the pocket of Jasmine Brown-Hagger and drew contact on a layup attempt. She sank both free throws, capping off a 9-0 run and extending the Commodores’ lead to 13 points with a score of 21-8 to end the quarter.
Pissott opened second-quarter scoring with a pull-up jumper. Aiyana Mitchell fouled Illinois’ Lety Vasconcelos, and she made both free throws after getting another opportunity due to a lane violation — ending Illinois’ scoring drought.
This contest then became a 3-point shootout, with Illinois’ Maddie Webber, Vanderbilt’s Jada Brown, Illinois’ Berry Wallace and Pissott all draining triples on consecutive possessions. Pissott then drew a charge on Parchment. Blakes converted another layup, and Vasconcelos completed a 3-point play after drawing a foul on Brown.
After the media timeout, Galvan made two free throws, as she was fouled on the possession before. Illinois drew back-to-back offensive fouls on Galvan, and she checked out of the game. After Jackson stepped out of bounds, Mwenentanda drew a charge on Wallace. Vasconcelos drew a foul on Brown and went 1-for-2 at the line. Blakes drew an offensive foul on Jackson, and Blakes drained a triple behind a hard screen from Mitchell. Wallace responded with a 3-pointer for Illinois.
Vanderbilt led 36-25 at the end of the second quarter. Blakes and Pissott led all scorers with 10 points each.
The Commodores turned it over on the first possession but still had the first points of the second half on a Pissott midrange jumper. Parchment made a 2-point basket after Illinois secured a chaotic rebound, and Mwenentenda then committed an offensive foul. Blakes then drove in for the layup.
Shortly after, Brown-Hagger drew a foul and made both free throws, and Parchment made a layup, but Blakes responded with a step-back jump shot. Wallace responded with a jumper of her own. Pissott drained another 3-pointer, and Wallace drew a foul on Mitchell, earning the and-one opportunity.
Wallace did not complete the three-point play out of the media timeout, and Galvan was fouled on a triple, earning herself three shots at the line. She went 1-for-3 at the line. After a layup from Webber, Galvan and Blakes nailed back-to-back 3-pointers, forcing Illinois to call a timeout.
Mitchell blocked Parchment’s layup, and Pissott canned a corner 3-point shot. Parchment converted a layup, and Blakes responded with another 3-point basket. The Commodores made 3-point shots on four consecutive offensive possessions.
Brown-Hagger made a layup at the 1:34 mark, but Blakes responded with a long 2-point basket. Vanderbilt led by 19 points at the end of the third quarter, with a score of 60-41.
Mitchell hit a layup off an assist from Pissott, scoring her first points of the night. Wallace made back-to-back layups for the Fighting Illini, but Mitchell countered with another layup of her own. Galvan was then called for her third foul of the night but remained on the court.
After Jackson missed a layup, Blakes took off on the fast break, throwing a no-look pass to Galvan for the layup. Illinois secured multiple offensive rebounds after the media timeout but could not convert a basket. Blakes then hit her fourth 3-point basket of the night. Brown-Hagger converted a put-back layup for Illinois, then on the next possession, Wallace stole the ball and drew a foul on Brown. She made both free throws.
Pissott blocked a fast-break layup attempt from Wallace, and Washington then made a layup, scoring her first points since the first quarter. Washington, Pissott, Blakes and Brown then checked out of the game, earning a standing ovation from Memorial Gymnasium. The game concluded with Trinity Wilson’s free throws and a layup, and two layups from Brown-Hagger. The Commodores dribbled out the clock, winning 75-57.
This game marks the final time Brown, Pissott, Mwenentanda and Washington will take the Memorial Gymnasium floor in a Commodore uniform. Vanderbilt will next face No. 6-seed Notre Dame in Fort Worth, Texas, March 27. Game time is still to be announced.
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