BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the third time this season, the Vanderbilt women’s basketball backcourt duo of Mikayla Blakes and Aubrey Galvan earned awards from the SEC in the same week, as the league office announced on Tuesday that Blakes was named SEC Co-Player of the Week and Galvan earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors.
The Commodore underclassmen guided Vandy to a pair of top-25 wins this past week. Blakes averaged 35.5 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game, as she shared SEC Player of the Week honors with South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards. Galvan put up 23.0 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game to earn her second SEC Freshman of the Week award over the last four weeks.
Overall, it is the fourth SEC weekly honor for both Blakes and Galvan this season. Blakes’ four SEC Player of the Week selections are tied for the most by a Commodore in a season, equaling Wendy Scholtens’ four awards in 1989-90. It is Blakes’ fifth overall SEC Player of the Week honor, which are second-most in school history. Galvan’s four SEC Freshman of the Week awards are the third-most by a Commodore.
Blakes had back-to-back 30-point performances this past week, scoring 37 points in the 84-83 win at No. 16/16 Kentucky last Thursday, then dropping 34 on No. 10/11 Oklahoma in a 102-86 rout at Memorial Gym on Monday. The sophomore has scored 30 or more points in each of her last three games, making her just the fourth SEC player this century to have three-consecutive 30-point outings. Blakes was efficient on the week, as she shot 54.2 percent (26-of-48) from the floor in the pair of top-25 wins.
In addition to her SEC Player of the Week honor, Blakes was named the National Player of the Week by World Exposure Report for the second time this season and earned her fifth Tennessee Sports Writers Association Player of the Week award.
Galvan had her first 30-point outing at the collegiate level on Monday, as she scored a career-best 30 points against No. 10/11 Oklahoma at Memorial Gymnasium. The 5-6 guard went 10-of-15 from the field against the Sooners, as she also handed out two assists and had two steals. Galvan’s 30 points against OU are the most scored by a freshman in an SEC contest this season, while it is the second-most points scored by an SEC freshman in any game. Galvan came up clutch in her 16-point outing at No. 16 Kentucky, as she went a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line over the final 19 seconds of the game that allowed the Commodores to hold on for the victory.
Vandy’s backcourt tandem combined to score 64 of their team’s 102 points in the 16-point victory over the Sooners. Blakes and Galvan are the first set of SEC teammates to score 30 points in the same SEC game this century, as they are only the third SEC duo to accomplish the feat since 1999-00 and the first since the 2017-18 season.
The No. 5/8-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team is set to host No. 4/4 Texas on Thursday in a top-five matchup at Memorial Gymnasium. Tipoff against the Longhorns is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and streams live on SEC Network+. Fans can click the link here to purchase tickets.
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