BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The SEC announced Tuesday that Vanderbilt women’s basketball guard Mikayla Blakes has been named the SEC Freshman of the Week for the third time this season.
Blakes shares the honor with Auburn’s Syriah Daniels, as the Somerset, New Jersey, native is named the SEC Freshman of the Week for the third time in the last four weeks. She joins teammate Khamil Pierre as the only Commodores to earn the accolade three or more times. Pierre was named SEC Freshman of the Week a school-record five times during the 2023-24 campaign.
The guard scored 26 points at Miami on Dec. 4 to help the Dores register an 88-70 win in their only game last week. Her 26 points against the Hurricanes were the most points scored by an SEC freshman over the past week. Additionally, her 26-point outing against the Canes marked the third-most points scored by a Vanderbilt freshman in a true road contest in program history and ranks as the 12th-most scored in a contest by a Commodore frosh.
Her five 3-point field goals against the Canes matched her career-best outing. The 26-point performance extended her double-digit scoring streak to 10 games to begin her career, marking the first time since at least 2009-10 that a Commodore has accomplished the feat. It is also the guard’s sixth game with 20 or more points this season.
Blakes currently leads all freshmen in scoring nationally at 20.2 points per game. She is also the first freshman this season to score 200 points at the NCAA Division I level. The guard leads all Power 4 freshmen with 2.8 steals per game, while her 28 steals are tops nationally among NCAA Division I freshmen.
The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team returns to Memorial Gymnasium Saturday as the Commodores welcome in Evansville for a nonconference matchup. Tipoff against the Purple Aces is set for 2 p.m. CT, and streams live on SEC Network+. Fans can click the link here to purchase tickets.
For more information and exclusive content on the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team, follow @VandyWBB on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X.
