NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 5/4-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team moved to 6-0 in SEC play for the first time in school history, as the Commodores posted an 81-53 victory over Auburn on Thursday at Memorial Gymnasium.
Vanderbilt’s 28-point win over the Tigers extends its school-record winning streak to 20 games, as the Dores stand a perfect 20-0 to open the 2025-26 season. Vandy becomes the sixth SEC program since 1999-00 to have a winning streak of 20 games or more. It is the first time an SEC school has won 20-straight games since LSU won its first 20 games to open the 2024-25 season.
A quartet of Commodores registered double-digit points against Auburn. It marked the 19th time in 20 games this season that Vanderbilt has had three or more players score 10-plus points. Graduate Sacha Washington and freshman Aubrey Galvan each recorded a double-double in the victory. It is the second time this season that a pair of Dores have posted a double-double in the same game, as Galvan (16 pts, 15 ast) and Washington (13 pts, 10 reb) also accomplished the feat against Tennessee State on Nov. 23.
Sophomore Mikayla Blakes extended her double-digit scoring streak to an SEC-leading 39 games with a team-best 20-point effort against Auburn. It is the 14th game with 20 or more points for the All-American this season. The Somerset, New Jersey, native also dished out five assists.
Washington collected her team-leading fifth double-double of the season with an 18-point, 12-rebound effort. It is the forward’s 27th career double-double, while her 12 rebounds moved the Lawrenceville, Georgia, native into fifth place on Vanderbilt’s all-time rebound list with 879 career caroms.
Galvan posted her second career double-double, as the first-year point guard tallied 15 points to go along with 10 assists. It was Galvan’s third outing of the season with 10 or more helpers.
Senior Justine Pissott rounded out Vanderbilt’s group of double-digit scorers, as the 6-4 guard scored 10 points to push her double-figure scoring streak to a career-high five games.
The Commodores ran away from the Tigers in the third quarter, as Vanderbilt used an 18-2 run to turn a two-point lead into a 51-33 advantage midway through the stanza. Vandy extended its lead to a game-high 31 points in the fourth quarter before settling for the 28-point victory to post its sixth-straight SEC win.
No. 5/4 Vanderbilt shot an even 50 percent from the floor against Auburn, making 32-of-64 of its shots from the floor. The Dores outrebounded the Tigers, 44-25, which led to a 15-2 edge in second chance points. The Commodores forced Auburn into 19 miscues, which turned into 22 points off turnovers.
Head Coach Shea Ralph on the Win
“I’m having to remind myself that this makes us 20-0 and that’s a great thing, right? The other thing is that I like being in this place where I’m pissed off after a win because we didn’t play well today, especially in the first half. I like it because it says that I know how good this team can be. I also like how my team responded after halftime. They looked more like our team, especially in that third quarter. We took control, which we should’ve done sooner, but I liked the response, and I loved that we had multiple contributions today.”
Up Next
The No. 5/4 Commodores hit the road once again this Sunday, as Vanderbilt heads to No. 2-ranked South Carolina for a top-five matchup at Colonial Life Arena. Tipoff against the Gamecocks airs live on ESPN at 2 p.m. CT.
Dore Notes
- The Commodores extend their best start in school history, as the Dores are now 20-0 to open the 2025-26 season
- Vandy is off to its first 6-0 start to open SEC play for the first time in school history
- Vanderbilt is one of six SEC schools to have a winning streak of 20-plus games since 1999-00
- The Commodores are one of two undefeated teams remaining in NCAA Division I this season, along with UConn
- Vanderbilt holds the second-longest active winning streak in NCAA Division I
- Thursday’s 81-53 victory over Auburn gives the Dores their third-straight win in the series, as well as four victories in the last five contests
- It is the largest margin of victory against the Tigers since an 80-45 win on Feb. 11, 2007
- Vanderbilt has posted 80 or more points in 15 games this season
- Three or more Commodores have scored double-digit points in 19 of Vandy’s 20 total games
- Sophomore Mikayla Blakes dropped 20 points to extend her double-digit scoring streak to 39 games, the third-longest active streak in NCAA Division I
- Blakes has now scored 20-plus points in 35 career games
- It is the sixth time this season that Blakes has grabbed multiple offensive rebounds
- Graduate Sacha Washington notched her fifth double-double of the season with a season-high 18 points to go along with 12 boards
- Washington moves into fifth place in all-time rebounds for Vanderbilt with 879 across her career
- Freshman Aubrey Galvan earned the second double-double of her career in a 15-point, 10-assist performance
- Galvan led the team in assists for the 10th time this season
- It is the third time this season that Galvan has finished with double-digit assists
- Senior Jada Brown produced three steals, marking her third game with three or more this season
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