TAMPA, Fla. – The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team continued to play stellar defense in the early stages of the 2024-25 season, as the Commodores locked up South Florida on Thursday night to pick up a 62-49 win on the road.
The Dores forced the Bulls into 23 turnovers that turned into 19 points for Vanderbilt. Vandy limited USF to 36.8 percent from the floor, as the Dores did not allow a 3-point field goal over the final two quarters of play. Vanderbilt held South Florida to 12 or fewer points in the second and fourth quarters, marking the seventh time Vandy has accomplished the feat in 12 quarters this season.
The win moves the Commodores to 3-0 on the year, while South Florida falls to an even 2-2. Vandy has now won its first three games of the year in back-to-back seasons.
Sophomore Khamil Pierre registered her third-straight double-double to lead a trio of double-digit scorers for Vanderbilt. The 6-2 forward tallied a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds in the win. She becomes the first Dore since Koi Love in 2020-21 to begin a season with three consecutive double-doubles. Pierre joins Fresno State’s Mia Jacobs as the only two NCAA Division I players to post three double-doubles this season.
Freshman Mikayla Blakes scored double-digit points for the third game in a row to start her Vanderbilt career, as the Somerset, New Jersey, native tallied 16 points. Sophomore Madison Greene, who made her first career start at Vanderbilt on Thursday, drilled a career-best five 3-point field goals en route to a 15-point performance in a career-high 37 minutes of action.
As a team, Vanderbilt shot 38.2 percent from the floor against South Florida. Despite being outrebounded 43-37, the Commodores were still able to outscore the Bulls in the paint, 28-24, and held a 12-7 edge in second-chance points.
How It Happened
The Dores opened the contest on a 6-0 run and maintained the lead for the majority of the first quarter. South Florida closed the gap and tied the game at 17-all with 23 ticks left in the opening frame. Blakes gave the Commodores the lead back in the closing seconds as she drove down the lane with a full head of steam and drilled a layup to provide Vandy with a 19-17 advantage.
Pierre went on a personal 5-0 run over the first 55 seconds of the second quarter that gave Vanderbilt a 24-17 lead. The Bulls battled back and pulled to within a point of the Dores at 27-26 with 4:08 before halftime. Vandy closed the quarter on a 7-0 run to push its lead out to 34-26 going into the break.
Greene gave the Commodores a double-digit lead at 37-26 with a 3-pointer on their first possession of the third. The trifecta from the sophomore sparked a 15-6 run to open the stanza, as Vanderbilt held a 17-point lead at 49-32 with 2:27 left to play in the frame. The Dores kept the Bulls at arm’s length for the remainder of the quarter, as Vandy held a 54-37 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Vanderbilt took a 20-point lead at 57-37 after Greene sank her fifth 3-point field goal to begin the final frame. Vandy led by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter before settling for the 13-point victory.
Head Coach Shea Ralph on the Win
“This was a good team win. We scheduled this game for a reason. It’s on the road in a tough environment against a very good team and a very good program. We got a little banged up coming into the game. I felt like doing what we did today, being down the players that we were down, and having other players step up and fill in; I don’t know if I can put into words how huge that is for this team this early in the season. I love the growth I’m seeing in my players and my team. I’m really proud of them. This was a hard-fought win on the road, and now we’re ready to go home and keep working.”
Dore Notes
- Vanderbilt moves to 4-0 all-time against South Florida, as the two schools met for the first time since Jan. 2, 2008
- The Commodores improved to 35-13 against nonconference foes under head coach Shea Ralph
- Vandy moved to 7-5 in true road games against non-SEC teams in the Ralph era
- Madison Greene made her first career start at Vanderbilt on Thursday, she registered 15 points and hit a career-best five 3-pointers against the Bulls
- Greene is the first Dore to hit five or more 3-point field goals in a game since Dec. 20, 2023, when Justine Pissott drilled five trifectas against Dayton
- Khamil Pierre extended her double-digit scoring streak to six games with a game-high 17-point performance
- Pierre posted her third-straight double-double to open 2024-25 with 17 points and 10 rebounds
- Pierre becomes the first Commodore since Koi Love in 2020-21 to open a season with three consecutive double-doubles
- Mikayla Blakes pushed her double-figure scoring streak to three games to begin her Vandy career with a 16-point effort against the Bulls
- The Dores held an opponent to 12 points or less in a quarter for the seventh time in 12 quarters played this season
- Vandy held its opponent to 50 points or less for the third-straight game to open the 2024-25 season
- The Commodores open a campaign at 3-0 for the second-straight season
Up Next
Vanderbilt returns to Memorial Gymnasium Sunday, as the Dores open a three-game homestand with a contest against Butler. Tipoff against the Bulldogs is set for 2 p.m. and will stream live on SEC Network+.
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