OXFORD, Miss. – The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team fell at Ole Miss, 87-59, in its first road SEC contest of the 2024-25 season.
Senior Iyana Moore moved into a tie for ninth place on Vanderbilt’s all-time 3-point field goals made list in the loss, as she has now made 173 career 3-pointers to equal Paige Redman’s (1996-99) career total. Moore is six 3-pointers away from moving into a tie with Michelle Palmisano (1995-97) for eighth on the list. The senior had 14 points against the Rebels to also extend her double-digit scoring streak to 10 games.
Sophomore Khamil Pierre pushed her double-figure scoring streak to 19 games, as the 6-2 forward registered 11 points in the loss. Pierre’s 19-game double-digit scoring streak is the longest by a Commodore since 2013-14 and is tied for the fourth-longest streak since 1999-00.
Freshman Mikayla Blakes registered double-digit points for the 16th game this season with a team-best 19 points at Ole Miss. Blakes has now scored double figures in each of her last three games, while she has tallied double-digit points in all but one game this season.
The Dores fall to 14-3 overall on the year, while Vandy now stands at 1-2 in SEC play. Ole Miss improves to 11-4 and 2-1 in league games. The loss snaps Vanderbilt’s seven-game winning streak in true road games, which dates back to the 2023-24 campaign.
For the second-straight game, an opponent started hot from the floor against the Commodores, as Ole Miss hit 51.4 percent of its shots from the floor in the first half. Mississippi’s hot shooting and defensive pressure allowed the Rebels to jump out to a double-digit early that they would never relinquish.
Vanderbilt shot 43.4 percent from the floor in the loss, while Ole Miss posted a 52.4 percent field goal percentage. The Rebels forced Vandy into a season-high 23 turnovers, while the Commodores turned over Mississippi a total of 18 times.
Head Coach Shea Ralph on the Results
“It’s been a tough week for us. We have lacked some toughness and that’s disappointing. We have 10 weeks left to go, so it’s gut-check time. We have to look at what are the things that we are tripping up on. These games are very physical in this league, so there has to be a way we fight through that so we can better prepare. We have to step up and play better in every facet of the game. The last two games, having lost to Kentucky in a similar fashion where they shot the ball extremely well. It seemed like everything they did was crisp on both ends of the floor and we just struggled. What that tells me, is that when we have a hard time scoring, we have a hard time defending, and vice versa. In both ways, we’ve got to control the tempo better. We can’t let teams have open looks and buckets. We need to have to look at the changes that we need to make because we’re not broken. There are certainly some changes we need to make right now in terms of our level of toughness, level of unity on the floor, our physicality, and maybe all of the little things that we are struggling with. We will get better.”
How It Happened
Vanderbilt found itself down 8-2 against the Rebels less than three minutes into the contest. The Commodores regrouped as a personal 8-0 run by Blakes pulled Vandy within a bucket at 11-9 at the 3:42 mark of the opening stanza. Ole Miss used a 6-0 run to extend its lead back out to 17-9. A layup by Pierre with 1:04 left in the frame made it a six-point contest at 17-11, and that’s where the score stood after 10 minutes of play.
The Dores found themselves down by double-digit early in the second quarter after a pair of Ole Miss 3-pointers made it a 25-15. The Rebel advantage grew to 13 points to force Vanderbilt to call a timeout with 4:31 left to play before halftime. Greene hit a 3-pointer out of the break, but Mississippi responded with a 7-0 run that put Ole Miss up by 18 points. The Rebels extended the lead to 44-25 going into halftime after hitting a 3-point field goal to end the second quarter.
Ole Miss scored the first four points in the third stanza to take a 23-point advantage at 48-25 less than two minutes into the frame. The Rebels pushed its lead to as many as 35 points in the third before taking a 71-37 advantage into the night’s final quarter.
The Commodores were able to chip into the Rebel lead in the fourth quarter. Vanderbilt pulled to within 26 points of Ole Miss before being handed an 87–59 defeat.
Up Next
The Commodores continue their brief two-game SEC road trip on Monday, as Vanderbilt is set to take on No. 6/4 LSU. Tipoff against the Tigers is set for 6 p.m. and airs live on SEC Network.
Dore Notes
- Senior Iyana Moore moved into a tie for ninth on Vanderbilt’s all-time 3-point field goals made list, as she is now tied with Paige Redman (1996-99) with 173 made 3-pointers
- Moore extends her double-digit scoring streak to 10 games with a 14-point effort against the Rebels
- Freshman Mikayla Blakes recorded double-digit points for the 16th game this season with a 19-point performance
- Blakes has now scored double figures in three-straight games
- Sophomore Khamil Pierre is now riding a 19-game double-digit scoring streak after an 11-point performance at Ole Miss
- Pierre’s 19-game double-figure scoring streak is the longest by a Commodore since 2013-14 when Christina Foggie recorded 19-straight games with 10-plus points
- Pierre’s streak is also the fourth-longest by a Commodore since 1999-00
- The loss snaps Vanderbilt’s seven-game road winning streak dating back to last season
- Vanderbilt drops back-to-back games for the first time this season
- Vanderbilt falls to 35-21 all-time against Ole Miss
- The Commodores are now 9-16 vs. the Rebels in games played in Oxford
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