ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands – Sophomore Mikayla Blakes feasted on Thanksgiving, as the All-American dropped a season-high 35 points to help the No. 17-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team defeat Oregon State, 88-66, to open the 2025 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.
The guard was efficient throughout the evening for the Commodores, as Blake shot 54.5 percent from the field, going 12-of-22. Her 35-point performance against the Beavers marks the seventh time Blakes has registered 30-plus points in her collegiate career, while it is her second 30-point game of this season. All 35 points Blakes scored came in the first three quarters of play, as the Dores maintained a 20-plus-point lead in the final frame.
Vanderbilt improves to 7-0 on the year. It is the third-straight season the Commodores have won seven-straight games to begin the year, which marks a program first.
The Dores now advance to the title game of the Island Division at the 2025 Paradise Jam. No. 17 Vanderbilt will take on BYU on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN+.
Blakes was one of three double-digit scorers for the Dores on Thanksgiving night, as senior Justine Pissott matched her career high with 17 points, while matching her career-best performance behind the arc with five 3-pointers against the Beavers. Freshman Aubrey Galvan tallied 12 points and had a game-high six steals.
The Dores held a 13-point lead at the end of the first quarter at 26-13. Oregon State was able to punch back and take a brief lead in the late second quarter, but Vanderbilt ended the frame, making its last four shots to take a 43-38 lead into the locker room. Vandy dropped the hammer on OSU in the third, as the Commodores outscored the Beavers, 30-9, in the stanza to take a commanding 26-point lead at 73-47. The Dores maintained a 20-plus-point advantage throughout the fourth to score their seventh victory of the season.
Vanderbilt shot 47.1 percent on the night and matched a season-high in 3-pointers made with 12. The Commodores forced Oregon State into 21 turnovers, which Vandy turned into 27 points. The Dores had a total of 12 steals, six of which came from Galvan.
Head Coach Shea Ralph on the Win
“We’re really continuing to come together. Our effort, especially in the third quarter, was exactly the team that I know we can be at this point in the season, which is really good. We have to clean up a few things. I thought our defense was subpar in the first half. We have to take better pride in our defense, and I thought we did that in the third quarter. Offensively, I’m really proud of our guards and how they played. I thought they did a great job at getting us into our offense and knocking down shots.”
Up Next
No. 17 Vanderbilt moves on to the championship game of the Island Division at the 2025 United States Virgin Island Paradise Jam on Saturday, as the Commodores challenge BYU. Tipoff against the Cougars is set for 11 a.m. CT on ESPN+.
Dores Notes
- Vanderbilt improves to 4-0 all-time vs. Oregon State
- The Commodores are now 3-4 all-time at the Paradise Jam
- Mikayla Blakes extends her double-digit scoring streak to 26 games
- Blakes has now scored 10-plus points in 39 of her 40 career games at Vanderbilt
- It is the 26th game that Blakes has tallied 20-plus points in a game at Vanderbilt and it is the seventh time she has scored 30-plus points in a game
- Justine Pissott matched her career high in points (17) and made 3-point field goals (5) vs. Oregon State
- Pissott’s 17 points equaled her career high, which she set Dec. 20, 2023 vs. Dayton
- Pissott scored double-digit points for the second straight game
- It marks the second time that Pissott has scored 10-plus points in back-to-back games at Vanderbilt, while it’s the first time since tallying 12 points in two consecutive games at Missouri (Feb. 29, 2024) and vs. Georgia (March 3, 2024) during the 2023-24 campaign
- Aubrey Galvan scored 12 points to record her second consecutive game with 10-plus points
- Galvan collected six steals vs. Oregon State, as she now has 6-plus steals in each of her last two games
- Jada Brown scored nine points to lead the Commodores in points off the bench for the first time this season
- Brown made a season-high three 3-point field goals on Thursday
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