Vanderbilt (9-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. South Florida (6-4, 0-0 American)
Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 • 6:30 p.m. CT
Memorial Gymnasium • Nashville, Tenn. • SEC Network+ • Tickets
94.9 The Fan • Vanderbilt Athletics App • Live Stats • Game Program • Game Notes
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 14/13-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team continues its five-game December homestand this Monday, as the Commodores welcome South Florida to Memorial Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m., and streams live on SEC Network+.
Starting Five
>> It has been 12 days since the Dores last played a game, as the team took time away from the court for finals to close out the fall semester at Vanderbilt University. In its last time out, the Commodores posted an 81-68 victory over Virginia in the ACC/SEC Challenge to move to 9-0 on the year. Sophomore Mikayla Blakes scored 28 points to record her 1,000th career point.
>> Vanderbilt comes into Monday’s contest against South Florida a perfect 9-0 on the year. The Commodores are seeking their first 10-0 start since the 2011-12 campaign, while they are looking for the program’s sixth 10-o start ever. The five previous seasons in which Vanderbilt started 10-0 were 1991-92, 1992-93, 1995-96, 2003-04, and 2011-12.
>> Fans will have plenty of opportunities to cheer on the Commodores in December, as Monday’s contest is the second of five games that Vanderbilt will play this month that take place at Memorial Gymnasium. The Dores host UAlbany on Thursday (6:30 p.m.) and Texas Southern on Saturday (noon), then close out the homestand on Dec. 28 against Stonehill (2 p.m.). Fans can purchase tickets to any Vanderbilt women’s basketball game by clicking the link here.
>> The Dores have won 24-straight nonconference home games dating back to the 2022-23 season. Vanderbilt is 37-3 inside Memorial Gym against non-league teams under head coach Shea Ralph. Overall, Vandy is 51-21 at home under Ralph’s direction.
>> Monday marks the fifth time that Vanderbilt and South Florida will face off on the hardwood. The Commodores hold a perfect 4-0 record in the all-time series. The last game took place last season on Nov. 14, 2024, when Vandy scored a 62-49 road win over the Bulls. Vanderbilt is 1-0 against USF under Ralph.
Game Coverage
Monday’s contest airs live at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+, with Andrew Allegretta and Kamera Harris on the call. Fans can listen to Jake Lyman locally on 94.9 The Fan and the Vanderbilt Commodores app outside of Nashville.
National Rankings
The Commodores came in at No. 14 in the Associated Press top 25 and No. 13 in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches poll. It marks the program’s highest ranking in either poll since the 2012-13 season.
It is Vanderbilt’s highest ranking in the AP top 25 since Week 2 of the 2012-13 season, when the Dores came in at No. 13.
Vandy’s No. 13 ranking in this week’s USA Today/WBCA poll is the program’s highest placement in the coaches’ poll since 2008-09, when the Commodores ended the season at No. 8 in the nation.
NET Ranking
Vanderbilt enters the new week at No. 18 in the NET rankings. The Dores came in at No. 12 in the first NET rankings of the 2025-26 season. The Dores have collected two Quad 2 and Quad 3 wins each through nine contests this season. The NET is an evaluation tool used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine seeding and bids.
Undefeated
Vanderbilt has won all nine of its games coming into Monday’s contest against South Florida. The Dores are 9-0 for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign and are searching for their first 10-0 start since that same season.
The Commodores are one of 12 undefeated teams left in NCAA Division I this season, while they are one of four unbeaten SEC teams.
Mikayla’s Record-Setting 1,000 Points
Sophomore Mikayla Blakes became the fastest Vanderbilt women’s basketball player to score 1,000 career points with a 28-point outing against Virginia in her last time out. Blakes accomplished the feat in 42 games, breaking the previous school record of 57 games held by Chantelle Anderson.
The Vanderbilt All-American is the ninth NCAA women’s basketball player to score 1,000 career points in 42 games or fewer since the 1981-82 season. Overall, Blakes is the 13th women’s college basketball player to reach the 1,000-point plateau in 42 games or less.
Nonconference Domination
The Commodores are 58-19 against nonconference foes in the Ralph era. Vanderbilt has won 15 consecutive regular-season games against non-SEC teams heading into Monday’s contest against South Florida.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
The Commodores rank in the top 10 nationally in assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio. Vanderbilt is sixth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.76, while the Dores’ 20.8 assists per game is eighth-best in NCAA Division I.
Freshman Aubrey Galvan (25th; 2.86) and senior Justine Pissott (59th; 2.25) each rank in the top 60 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio. Galvan also sits in the top 20 in the country in assists (17th, 63) and assists per game (11th), while her 7.0 assists per game average leads all freshmen nationally.
Hot Starts
A total of five Vandy upperclassmen are off to career-best starts to open the 2025-26 campaign. Senior Justine Pissott (10.7 ppg), graduate Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda (8.0 ppg), junior Aiyana Mitchell (7.4 ppg), senior Jada Brown (4.8 ppg) and junior Aga Makurat (4.1 ppg) are all posting career-high scoring averages through the first nine games of the season.
Blakes’ Scoring Streak
Sophomore Mikayla Blakes is riding a 28-game double-digit scoring streak that dates back to last season, coming into Monday’s game against South Florida. It is the fifth-longest active scoring streak in the NCAA.
Blakes has scored 25-plus points in each of her last three games, making her the first Commodore in 15 seasons to accomplish the feat. The guard has scored 20-plus points 20 times during the streak. Blakes has registered 10 or more points in 41 of the 42 career games she has played at Vanderbilt.
Scouting the Bulls
South Florida holds a 6-4 record coming to Memorial Gym. The Bulls have won three of their last four games, including a 91-58 victory over Houston Christian their last time out on Dec. 5. USF holds a NET ranking of 64 and is under the direction of first-year head coach Michele Woods-Baxter.
Senior Edyn Battle leads the Buls in scoring at 14.2 points per game through six contests, though she has not played since Nov. 24. Fellow seniors Katie Davidson (11.5 ppg) and L’or Mputu (11.1 pgg) round out South Florida’s trio of double-digit scorers, though the group has not played in the same game since Nov. 20 in a win over Duke. Mputu averages nearly a double-double, as the 6-2 forward also pulls down a team-best 9.1 rebounds per contest.
The Bulls are averaging 71.1 points per game and give up 68.6 points. South Florida is shooting 42.0 percent from the floor and 28.0 percent from behind the arc. Defensively, USF allows opponents to shoot 39.8 percent from the field and 31.8 percent beyond the 3-point line.
Follow Us
For more information and exclusive content on the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team, follow @VandyWBB on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter/X.
