No. 8 Vanderbilt (21-9) vs. No. 9 Tennessee (21-8) or No. 16 Texas A&M (10-18)
Thursday, March 6, 2025 • 10 a.m. CT
Bon Secours Wellness Arena • Greenville, S.C. • SEC Network
94.9 The Fan • Vanderbilt Athletics App • Live Stats • Bracket • Tournament Page • Game Notes
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The No. 8-seeded Vanderbilt women’s basketball team begins its run in the 2025 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday, as the Commodores take on the winner of No. 9-seed Tennessee and No. 16-seed Texas A&M at 10 a.m. CT on SEC Network.
Starting Five
>> The Commodores head into the 2025 SEC Women’s Basketball holding a 21-9 overall record. The Dores went 8-8 in SEC play, tied with Tennessee in the standings. Vanderbilt has won two-straight coming into Bon Secours Wellness Arena, as the Dores closed the regular season scoring 90-plus points in back-to-back wins over Texas A&M (91-58) and at Missouri (100-59) in the final week of the regular season.
>> The Commodores earned the tournament’s No. 8 seed by holding the tiebreaker over the Lady Vols thanks to Vandy’s 71-70 victory over Tennessee at Memorial Gym on Jan. 19. It marks the second-straight season Vanderbilt has earned a bye at the SEC Tournament, as the Dores were the No. 6 seed last season.
>> Vanderbilt will take on the winner of Wednesday’s game between Tennessee and Texas A&M. The Commodores went 2-0 against the Lady Vols and Aggies this season. Back on Jan. 19, freshman Mikayla Blakes’ putback with 0.8 seconds left in the game gave Vandy a 71-70 victory over Tennessee in Nashville. More recently, the Dores posted a 91-58 win over Texas A&M at Memorial Gym on Feb. 27.
>> Vanderbilt is 49-38 all-time at the SEC Tournament, while the Commodores are 1-3 under head coach Shea Ralph. Vanderbilt received a bye in this year’s tournament, which marks the second-straight season that the Dores have earned a bye in the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament.
>> The Commodores have won a total of six SEC Tournament Championships, with the most recent coming at the 2009 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament. Vanderbilt has made eight appearances in the SEC Championship Game, with the last coming also in 2009. Vandy has made a total of 18 SEC Tournament Semifinal appearances, with the previous occurrence taking place in 2011.
Game Coverage
Thursday’s second round contest of the 2025 SEC Tournament airs live on SEC Network at 10 a.m. CT on Thursday, with Sam Gore and Nikki Fargas calling the action. 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 with live stats.
NET Ranking
Vanderbilt enters the SEC Tournament holding a NET ranking of 22. 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.
Blakes Wins SEC Freshman of the Year
Vanderbilt women’s basketball standout guard Mikayla Blakes was named the 2024-25 SEC Freshman of the Year, voted on by the league’s coaches on Tuesday, the conference office announced.
Blakes is the program’s first SEC Freshman of the Year since Donna Harris in 1989-90. The Somerset, New Jersey, native becomes the third Vanderbilt women’s basketball player named SEC Freshman of the Year, joining Harris and Wendy Scholtens (1987-88). The league’s coaches started awarding the SEC Freshman of the Year in the 1983-84 season.
Additionally, the coaches voted Blakes to the All-SEC first team and All-SEC freshman team on Tuesday. She becomes the first freshman to earn first-team All-SEC honors since South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston in 2020.
Pierre’s Improvement
Sophomore Khamil Pierre improved her scoring average by 11.9 points per game from her freshman season. Pierre registered 20-plus points in 16 games this season and collected three or more steals in 17 contests.
The Phoenix, Arizona, native was the only NCAA Division I player this season to average over 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds. Additionally, Pierre is the only player in the country to rank inside the top 15 nationally in scoring (14th; 20.8 ppg) and steals per game (13th; 3.00).
The 6-2 forward collected 15 double-doubles this season, which are the most by a Commodore in a single season since 1999-00. Pierre’s 15 double-doubles were 13th-most in NCAA Division I this season and ranked second in the SEC. Her 252 made field goals leads the SEC and are third-most nationally. The sophomore ended the 2024-24 regular season ranked inside the top 15 nationally in seven different categories.
Blakes Earns All-American Status
Freshman Mikayla Blakes has been named to The Athletic All-America second team, as announced by the publication on Monday. Blakes becomes the first Commodore to earn an All-American distinction in 14 seasons.
The freshman becomes the 19th Commodore to be named an All-American by a major women’s basketball publication. Blakes is the first Vanderbilt women’s basketball player since Jence Rhoads in 2010-11 to earn an All-American recognition, when Rhoads was named to the Associated Press All-American honorable mention squad. Blakes is also the first Commodore to earn first- or second-team All-American honors since Chantelle Anderson’s AP Second-Team All-American selection in 2002-03. Additionally, Blakes is the third Vanderbilt freshman to earn All-American status in program history, joining Barbara Brackman and Harriet Brumfield, who were named to the Women’s Basketball News Service All-America first team in 1981-82.
Forcing Turnovers
Vanderbilt has forced teams into 20-plus turnovers in four of the last six regular season contests. The Commodores have forced teams into an average of 21.5 turnovers per game over their last six contests.
The Commodores enter the SEC Tournament leading the SEC in steals per game at 12.8 and force the third-most turnovers this season at 21.4. Vanderbilt’s 12.8 steals per game ranks eighth in the nation. Sophomore Khamil Pierre is second in the SEC in steals per game at 3.00, a mark that ranks 13th nationally.
Scoring Streaks
Freshman Mikayla Blakes has tallied double-figure points in 16-straight contests, and in 29 of the 30 collegiate games she has played in.
Sophomore Khamil Pierre has registered double-digit points in eight-straight games. She has scored 10-plus points in 30 of her last 31 games dating back to last season.
Earlier this season, Pierre had her 23-game streak snap. Pierre’s 23-game streak was the longest by a Commodore since 2006-07 when Carla Thomas registered double-digit points in 29-straight games. Pierre’s streak was also the fourth-longest double-digit scoring streak by a Dore since 1999-00.
Follow Us
For more information and exclusive content on the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team, follow @VandyWBB on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter/X.
