(RV/RV) Vanderbilt (14-2, 1-1 SEC) at (RV/RV) Ole Miss (10-4, 1-1 SEC)
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 • 5 p.m. CT
The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss • Oxford, Miss. • SEC Network+
94.9 The Fan • Vanderbilt Athletics App • Live Stats • Game Notes
OXFORD, Miss. – The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team opens a two-game SEC road trip Thursday with a matchup against Ole Miss. Tipoff against the Rebels is set for 5 p.m. CT and streams live on SEC Network+.
Starting Five
>> Vanderbilt looks to get back into the win column, as the Commodores recently had their seven-game winning streak ended in a 96-78 loss to No. 16/16-ranked Kentucky last Sunday at Memorial Gymnasium. Freshman Mikayla Blakes scored a game-high 24 points to record her 10th game with 20-plus points this season. Sophomore Khamil Pierre tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds to post her 11th double-double of the year, which is second-most in all of NCAA Division I.
>> The Dores head out on the road for the first time in SEC play during the 2024-25 season when they travel down to Ole Miss. Vandy won a program-record six road conference games last season. The Commodores have won four-straight SEC road games dating back to last season coming into Thursday’s contest.
>> Vandy holds a 3-0 record in true road games this season. The Dores come into The Pavilion winning seven-consecutive road contests dating back to the 2023-24 campaign. Vanderbilt’s last win on the road came on Dec. 19 at Dayton, when the Commodores posted an 88-66 victory over the Flyers.
>> Thursday’s matchup between the Commodores and Rebels will be the 56th meeting all-time between the schools. It will be the first of two games played between Vanderbilt and Mississippi this season, as the Rebels will make the return trip to Nashville on Feb. 2. Vandy holds the all-time series lead at 35-20, though Ole Miss has won each of the last three contests. The Dores are 0-3 against Mississippi in the Ralph era.
>> Vanderbilt is 9-15 all-time at The Pavilion against Ole Miss. The last Commodore victory in Oxford came on Feb. 1, 2018, when Vandy collected a 67-61 win.
Game Coverage
Thursday’s contest against Ole Miss streams live on SEC Network+ via the Watch ESPN app, with Jake Hromada and Lindsay King calling the action and Loral Winn as the sideline reporter. Fans can listen to Jake Lyman locally on 94.9 The Fan and the Vanderbilt Commodores app outside of Nashville. Fans can also follow along via live stats.
NET Ranking
Vanderbilt enters Thursday holding a NET ranking of 20. The Commodores came in at No. 7 in the first NET ranking of the 2024-25 season, the highest NET ranking in program history. The NET is an evaluation tool the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses to determine seeding and at-large bids.
Receiving Votes
The Dores earned 18 votes in this week’s Associate Press Top 25 Poll and 16 votes in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll. It marks the sixth-straight week that Vanderbilt has been featured in both major college women’s basketball polls.
Pierre Named to Wooden Award Midseason Watch List
Sophomore Khamil Pierre was selected to the John R. Wooden Award midseason top 25 watch list, as announced by the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Tuesday. The 6-2 forward is averaging 22.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 3.5 steals per game through 15 contests this season. The Phoenix, Arizona, native is the only NCAA Division I player to average over 22.0 points and 10.5 rebounds this season.
Blakes Named TSWA Player of the Week
Freshman Mikayla Blakes averaged 30.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.0 steals to help Vanderbilt go 1-1 in its first week of SEC play to earn Tennessee Sports Writers Association Player of the Week honors. It is Blakes’ first TSWA Player of the Week selection and Vanderbilt’s third this season, as Khamil Pierre has been a two-time honoree.
The highlight of Blakes’ week came in her first-ever SEC contest, as she scored a Vanderbilt freshman-record 36 points in a 108-82 win over Georgia on Jan. 2. She followed that up by scoring 24 points in her first game against a ranked team, as she scored 24 points against No. 16 Kentucky.
Moore Ties a Legend
Senior Iyana Moore enters Thursday’s contest tied with Vanderbilt legend Rhonda Blades for 10th on the school’s all-time 3-point field goals made list. Moore has made 171 career 3-point field goals, tying her with Blades, who made the very first 3-point field goal in WNBA history.
Blakes Leading The Freshmen
First-year guard Mikayla Blakes is making an early case for national freshman of the year consideration. The 5-8 guard leads all NCAA Division I freshmen in scoring (20.6 ppg), points scored (329), steals (44), and field goals made (114). She was also the first freshman in NCAA Division I to hit the 100-, 200-, and 300-point marks this season.
Additionally, the guard ranks inside the top 10 among all freshmen in the country in steals per game (2nd; 2.75), free throws made (2nd; 64), 3-pointers made (4th; 37), free throw percentage (4th; 85.3), field goal percentage (8th; 45.7), assists (T-9th; 54), assists-to-turnover ratio (9th; 1.50). Blakes is the only player to rank in the top 10 freshmen nationally in points scored, total assists, total steals, and made 3-pointers.
The Somerset, New Jersey, native has won SEC Freshman of the Week three times. Blakes and Georgia Tech’s Dani Carnegie are the only Power 4 players to win their conference’s weekly freshman award three or more times this season.
Scouting the Rebels
Mississippi holds a record of 10-4 and is coming off a 60-58 loss at Texas A&M to snap a five-game winning streak. Like Vanderbilt, Ole Miss is receiving votes in both major collegiate women’s basketball polls, as the Rebels earned 14 votes in the Associate Press Top 25 and 20 votes in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll. The Rebels hold a NET ranking of 18 entering Thursday’s contest.
The Rebels feature four double-digit scorers led by freshman Sira Thienou’s 12.1 points per contest. Senior Kennedy Todd-Williams is putting up 11.5 points, while senior Madison Scott chips in 10.9 points per contest. Senior Starr Jacobs rounds out the quartet with 10.4 points per game.
Ole Miss is putting up 78.7 points per game through 14 games this season. The Rebels are shooting 45.4 percent from the field and 30.7 percent on 3-point field goals. Defensively, teams are putting up 48.4 points per game against Mississippi while shooting 35.7 percent from the floor and 25.2 percent from behind the arc.
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