BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The No. 5/6-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team dropped a top-25 contest to No. 18/18-ranked Ole Miss, as the Commodores fell 83-75 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Commodores stormed back from a 19-point halftime deficit but ultimately were handed an eight-point defeat to the Rebels, dropping their second-straight contest. Vandy now stands at 20-2 overall on the year and 6-2 in SEC play.
All-American Mikayla Blakes tallied 29 points in the loss, as the sophomore extends her double-digit scoring streak to 41 games, which is the third-longest active scoring streak in NCAA Division I. It is Blakes’ 11th contest this season with 25-plus points, while it’s her 17th outing with 20 or more points.
Blakes was one of three Commodores to score double figures against the Rebels. Freshman Aubrey Galvan had 18 points, and graduate Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda registered 11 points. It is the 20th time this season that Vanderbilt has had three or more players score double figures in a game.
After trading blows in the opening minutes of the contest, Ole Miss used a 14-2 run to take a 23-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. Vanderbilt closed the gap to four points at 25-21 at the 7:15 mark of the second frame, but the Rebels ended the half on a 17-4 spurt to take a 44-25 advantage over the Dores going into the half.
Vanderbilt cut into the Ole Miss lead in the third quarter, as the Commodores outscored the Rebels, 26-16, in the frame to make it a single-digit contest at 60-51 going into the fourth. Vandy turned up the heat in the fourth quarter, as the Dores opened the frame on a 19-3 run to take a 67-64 lead with 5:56 to play. Mississippi ended the contest on a 19-8 spurt to claim the eight-point victory over the Commodores.
The Commodores shot 46.7 percent from the floor and forced 20 turnovers, which Vanderbilt turned into 29 points. The Rebels shot 51.7 percent on the day and held a 16-0 edge in bench scoring.
Head Coach Shea Ralph on the Result
“We certainly weren’t ourselves in the first half. It wasn’t any better than our last game. Then, when we played like us in the second half, we won the second half. But, you know, that’s just not going to cut it in this league. It’s not a matter of technique or tactics; it’s just toughness and competitiveness and having the discipline and focus to be able to do it for 40-straight minutes. When you look at the game from start to finish, I am really proud of my team for fighting back, but we just dug ourselves too deep a hole. It’s related to toughness, rebounding and not taking care of the basketball. Then we did the things that we needed to do in the second half, regardless of some of the foul trouble. That is more like the team that I know.”
Up Next
The No. 5/6 Commodores now head home after an elongated road trip, as Vanderbilt welcomes Florida to Memorial Gymnasium on Sunday. Tipoff against the Gators is set for 3 p.m. CT and airs live on SEC Network. Tickets for Sunday’s game are $1 and can be purchased at the link here.
Dore Notes
- Friday’s game was relocated to Birmingham, Alabama, due to Winter Storm Fern leaving ice in both Oxford and Nashville. It was originally scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 29, at Ole Miss
- Vanderbilt falls to 35-23 all-time against Ole Miss
- The Commodores are now 6-1 all-time against the Rebels in neutral site games
- Sophomore Mikayla Blakes extends her double-digit scoring streak to 41 games
- Blakes has scored 10-plus points in 54 of her 55 career games
- It is Blakes’ 11th outing this season with 25-plus points, while it is her 17th game with 20-plus points
- Aubrey Galvan scored 18 points, as she has now scored double digits in seven of her last nine games
- It is Galvan’s 14th game with 10-plus points this season
- Graduate Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda registered double-digit points for the eighth time this season and 25th time in her career
- Senior Justine Pissott has now had a block in a career-best seven games
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