CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Freshman Mikayla Blakes recorded her second-straight 20-plus point performance, while sophomore Khamil Pierre recorded her seventh double-double of the season Wednesday night in an 88–70 win at Miami as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge.
The duo of Blakes and Pierre combined to score 54 points against the Hurricanes. Pierre matched her career-best with a 28-point performance, while Blakes registered 26 points. It is the fourth time this season that the duo has scored over 20 points apiece in a game.
With the win, Vanderbilt improves to 9-1 on the year. The Commodores hand the Hurricanes their first loss of the 2024-25 campaign, as Miami now stands at 7-1 overall.
Pierre equaled her career-best performance of 28 points, which she first registered at Georgia on Feb. 11, 2024, as a freshman. The 6-2 forward also pulled down a game-best 13 rebounds to post her seventh double-double of the season, which is the second-most in all of NCAA Division I. It was her sixth game of the year with 20 or more points, while she added a team-best four steals to her stat line.
Blakes registered 26 points in the victory. It is Blakes’ sixth game with 20 or more points this season, as her 26-point performance marks the 12th-most points scored in a game by a Vanderbilt freshman.
Senior Iyana Moore, who scored her 1,000th career point at Vandy in her last contest, registered 13 points in the win. It is Moore’s 50th career game, scoring double-digit points at Vanderbilt. She also handed out a season-high seven assists. Graduate student Jordyn Oliver pulled down a season-best nine rebounds as the Commodores outrebounds Miami 36-24.
The Commodores hit nine 3-point field goals on Wednesday, led by Blakes’ five makes behind the arc, which ties her career-best performance. Vanderbilt shot an even 50 percent from the field, while Miami posted a 52.8 percent success rate from the field. The Dores forced Miami into 21 turnovers, which turned into 27 Vandy points.
How It Happened
Vanderbilt opened the contest on a 7-2 run, but Miami responded with five quick points to pull even with the Dores at 7-7 midway through the opening stanza. The Commodores broke the tie by using a 14-2 run that gave them a double-digit lead at 21-9 after a Blakes layup at the 1:05 mark. The Hurricanes rolled off four-straight points before Pierre closed the frame with a layup to put Vandy up 23-13 after 10 minutes of play.
Miami made it a five-point game at 32-27 midway through the second quarter, but Vanderbilt scored nine-consecutive points, capped off by a 3-pointer from Moore, to take a 41-27 advantage with 1:46 left before halftime. Vandy scored five of the final nine points in the quarter to hold a 46-31 lead going into the locker room.
Vanderbilt built its lead to 17 points in the early stages of the third quarter after a 3-pointer from Blakes gave the Dores a 55-38 advantage. There were a total of 47 points between the two teams in the third frame, as Vandy went into the fourth leading 69-55.
The Dores maintained a double-digit lead throughout the fourth quarter. Vanderbilt took a game-high 20-point lead at 88-68 with 90 seconds left on the clock and walked out of the Watsco Center with an 18-point win.
Head Coach Shea Ralph on the Win
“I’m really proud of our team. About a week ago, I felt disappointed in the way that we lost the game against Michigan State. I felt like today was a huge step forward in the right direction. It was an entire team effort from the bench to the floor. All of our kids stepped up. The energy we had in warmups and the hotel was great. I can tell that this is becoming a really good team, and it’s fun to coach them. I’m really proud and happy for them.”
Up Next
The Commodores head into an extended break, as Vanderbilt’s next game is set for Dec. 14 against Evansville at Memorial Gymnasium. Tipoff against the Purple Aces is set for 2 p.m. CT, and streams live on SEC Network+.
Dore Notes
- Sophomore Khamil Pierre equaled her career-high in points scored with 28 points against Miami, matching her 28-point performance at Georgia on Feb. 11, 2024
- Pierre posted her seventh double-double of the season with a 28-point, 13-rebound effort against the Hurricanes
- Pierre’s seven double-doubles are the second-most in NCAA Division I this season
- Pierre extended her career-best double-figure scoring streak to 12 games
- It is the sixth game this season that Pierre has scored 20 or more points and the seventh of her career
- Freshman Mikayla Blakes extends her double-digit scoring streak to 10 games to open her career with 26 points
- Blakes is the first Commodore to open their career with 10-straight games scoring double-figure points
- The 26 points by Blakes are the 12th-most points scored in a game by a Vanderbilt freshman
- Blakes registered 20-plus points in a contest for the sixth time through her first 10 games at Vanderbilt
- Senior Iyana Moore tallied 13 points vs. the Hurricanes to give her three-straight games with 10 or more points
- It is Moore’s 50th career game with double-digit points at Vanderbilt
- Graduate Jordyn Oliver dished out four assists, and she has now handed out three or more assists in seven of her last eight games
- Oliver pulled down a season-best nine rebounds
- Vanderbilt improves to 42-14 overall against nonconference teams under head coach Shea Ralph
- The Commodores improved to 2-2 all-time against Miami, with Vandy picking up its first win over Miami since March 26, 1992, in the Sweet 16 of the 1992 NCAA Tournament
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