DAYTON, Ohio – Sophomore Madison Greene made the most of her return to her home state, as the guard registered a career-high 25 points off the bench in an 80-66 win at Dayton on Thursday night.
Greene, a native of Columbus, Ohio, recorded the first 20-plus point performance of her collegiate career in her return to the Buckeye State. Her 25 points off the bench marked the first time that a Dore scored at least 25 points in a reserve role since Erin Whalen’s 25-point performance vs. No. 10-ranked South Carolina on Jan. 18, 2018. It is Greene’s seventh game this season with double-digit points, while it is the sixth time she has scored 10-plus points off the bench this season.
With the win, Vanderbilt improves to 11-1 on the year, while Dayton falls to 6-5. The Commodores collect their seventh-straight road win with the victory over the Flyers, a streak that dates back to last season.
Greene was one of four double-digit scorers for Vanderbilt on Thursday night. Freshman Mikayla Blakes tallied 16 points and collected a game-high five steals. Blakes’ performance vs. the Flyers pushed her double-digit scoring streak to 12 games to open her Vanderbilt career.
Sophomore Khamil Pierre extended her double-digit scoring streak to 14 games with a 14-point, 10-rebound effort. It is Pierre’s eighth double-double of the season, which is second in all of NCAA Division I. Senior Iyana Moore matched Pierre with 14 points of her own. Moore’s 14-point performance gives her 1,039 career points, which puts her in a tie for 35th on Vanderbilt’s all-time scoring list with Chelsie Hall.
As a team, the Commodores shot 38.2 percent from the field, while Dayton connected on 49.1 percent on its shots. Vanderbilt forced the Flyers into 26 turnovers and collected 16 steals, 10 of which came in the first quarter. Vandy hit nine 3-point field goals in the victory, with seven coming in the opening stanza. The Commodores outscored Dayton 32-7 in points off turnovers.
How It Happened
Vanderbilt trailed Dayton early after the Flyers opened the game on a 7-0 spurt. The Dores dropped the hammer on the home team from that point, as Vandy outscored Dayton 33-8 for the remainder of the opening stanza. The Commodores hit seven 3-pointers in the first quarter, led by Greene’s three trifectas. Vandy also forced Dayton into 12 turnovers in the opening frame, as the Commodores collected 10 steals over the first 10 minutes of play.
The Dores got off to another slow start in the second stanza, with Dayton rolling off the first eight points of the quarter, making it a 33-23 contest at the 7:17 mark. Vanderbilt held a double-digit advantage until a pair of Dayton free throws made it a 39-31 contest with 2:37 remaining before halftime. The Flyers made it a four-point game at 41-36, but an old-fashioned 3-point play by graduate student Jane Nwaba put the Commodores back up by seven. Vanderbilt went into the locker room, holding a 46-39 lead.
After trading baskets to open the third quarter, the Flyers went on a 7-0 run to tie the game up at 48-all at the 7:11 mark. A 3-pointer from Moore and a jumper from Blakes gave the Commodores a 55-50 lead. Back-to-back buckets from Dayton made it a one-point contest at 57-56 in the closing minutes of the third. Greene’s layup in transition put Vanderbilt up 59-56, which is where the score stood going into the final frame of the night.
Vanderbilt got off to a hot start in the fourth quarter, with the Commodores scoring the first six points to take a 65-56 lead with 8:21 left to play. Vandy pushed its advantage back out to double-digits late in the fourth quarter, as the Dores ended the contest on a 13-6 run to post a 14-point road win.
Head Coach Shea Ralph on the Win
“I said after our last game that this is one of the toughest times of the year for us to keep our team focused and disciplined. Dayton has a good team. They’re athletic and similar to some SEC teams we’ll see later this year. We knew this was going to be a tough game on the road.
“I will say two things about this game. First, I am disappointed in our effort overall. I thought for big portions of the game, beyond the first quarter and most of the fourth, they outplayed us, outworked us, and outhustled us. Dayton did everything it needed to do to win the game. Then we had a few players who decided we were going to win today. Those players were Madison Greene and Aiyana Mitchell, who came in and provided incredible minutes in the fourth quarter. Also, the leadership of Jordyn Oliver and Iyana Moore, who both had great fourth quarters. I told our team in the locker room that I’m proud that we pulled the win out and that, in the end, they played for each other to win the game. All of the other stuff we have to use as a learning experience, or it’s going to bite us in the butt. That has to be the approach that I take this time of year. I’m glad we won, and I felt like the team collectively did what they needed to do to get the win. I’m proud of them for that, but there is a lot to learn from tonight.”
Up Next
The Commodores jump back into action Saturday as Vanderbilt welcomes West Georgia to Memorial Gymnasium. Tipoff against the Wolves is set for 11 a.m., and streams live on ESPN+.
Dore Notes
- Sophomore Madison Greene recorded the first 20-point performance of her collegiate career with a career-high 25 points
- It is the fifth time this season that Greene has scored double-digit points off the bench
- Greene’s 13 first-quarter points set her career-high for most points scored in a quarter
- Sophomore Khamil Pierre pushed her career-long double-digit scoring streak to 14 games with a 14-point performance at Dayton
- Pierre pulled down 10 rebounds to go along with her 14 points to record her ninth double-double of the season, which is the second-most in NCAA Division I this season
- Pierre dished out a career-high five assists vs. the Flyers
- The 6-2 forward has set career-highs in points (42), rebounds (18), steals (8), and assists (5) over the last two games
- Freshman Mikayla Blakes extended her double-digit scoring streak to 12 games to begin her Vanderbilt career with 16 points against the Flyers
- Blakes is the first Commodore since 1999-00 to begin their Vanderbilt career by scoring double-digit points in each of their first 12 games
- Senior Iyana Moore’s 14 points against Dayton give her a five-game double-digit scoring streak
- Moore moved past Patsy Smith (1028 points) and Jordyn Cambridge (1,037 points) and on Vanderbilt’s all-time scoring list tonight, as she is tied with Chelsie Hall (2018-21) for 35th all-time with 1,039 points
- The Commodores hit seven 3-pointers in the first quarter, which is the most in a quarter for Vandy this season
- Vanderbilt collected 10 steals in the first quarter, marking the most steals in a single quarter this season
- Vanderbilt is now 7-3 all-time against Dayton
- The Dore picked up their first win in Dayton since Jan. 19, 1999, when Vanderbilt picked up a 59-50 win over the Flyers
- The Commodores are 45-14 against nonconference opponents under Ralph
- Vandy is now 9-5 in true road games against non-SEC teams under Ralph
- The Dores have now won seven-straight road games dating back to last season
- Vanderbilt concludes the 2024 calendar year with a 9-2 mark in true road contests
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