(RV/RV) Vanderbilt (19-8, 6-7 SEC) vs. No. 6/6 South Carolina (24-3, 12-1 SEC)
Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025 • 2 p.m. CT
Memorial Gymnasium • Nashville, Tenn. • SEC Network+ • Tickets
94.9 The Fan • Vanderbilt Athletics App • Live Stats • Game Notes
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team will honor five players on Sunday afternoon as part of Senior Day at Memorial Gymnasium. The Commodores welcome in No. 6/6-ranked South Carolina for a 2 p.m. contest on SEC Network+.
Starting Five
>> Vanderbilt returns to Memorial Gym for the final time this season, as the Commodores open a two-game homestand on Sunday against the No. 6-ranked Gamecocks. The Dores are coming off a 101-81 defeat at No. 16 Oklahoma, putting them at 19-8 overall on the year and 6-7 in SEC play. Freshman Mikayla Blakes recorded her fifth 30-plus point contest of the season with 34 points against the Sooners.
>> The Commodores will be honoring the collegiate careers of graduate students Leilani Kapinus, Jane Nwaba and Jordyn Oliver, along with seniors Iyana Moore and Sacha Washington before Sunday’s game as part of Senior Day at Memorial Gym. Doors will open 90 minutes before tipoff and the ceremony will begin at the 15-minute mark of the pregame clock. Fans can click here for tickets.
>> Vanderbilt is 12-3 at home this season. The Commodores are 24-8 at Memorial Gymnasium over the last two seasons and are 45-20 at home under head coach Shea Ralph. The Dores enter Sunday seeking their 13th win of the season at Memorial Gym. A victory would give Vanderbilt its highest win total at home in a season since 2011-12 when Vandy won 18 home games.
>> Thursday will be the 44th meeting between the Commodores and Gamecocks. South Carolina holds the all-time series lead at 22-21 and has won each of the last 16 games against Vanderbilt. The last time the Dores posted a victory over the Gamecocks came on Jan. 27, 2011, when Vandy collected a 74-60 overtime win in Columbia, South Carolina.
>> Vanderbilt is 11-9 all-time against South Carolina at Memorial Gymnasium. The Commodores have dropped each of the last eight home games against the Gamecocks. The last Vandy victory against South Carolina at home happened on Feb. 7, 2008, when the Dores collected a 78-48 win.
Game Coverage
Sunday’s contest vs. No. 6/6 South Carolina streams live on SEC Network+, with Alex Gould and Drew Maddux 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 Sunday holding a NET ranking of 23. 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.
In Search of Win No. 20
Vanderbilt will be seeking its 20th win of the season on Sunday afternoon. The Commodores are searching for back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 2011-12 and 2012-12 campaigns. The Dores won 23 games during the 2023-24 season en route to the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth in 2013-14.
Looking for Another Ranked Win
Vanderbilt has an opportunity to pick up a third win over a top-25 team this season when they travel to No. 6/6 South Carolina.
The Commodores have collected wins over No. 15 Tennessee (71-70) and at No. 19 Alabama (66-64), marking the first time since the 2015-16 campaign the Dores have posted multiple wins over ranked teams in the same season. Vanderbilt will be searching for its second top-25 road win of the campaign.
The last time the Commodores knocked off multiple top-25 teams on the road in the same season came during the 2015-16 campaign. Vanderbilt won at No. 12/12 Kentucky, 71-69, and at No. 24/24 Missouri, 56-52, that season. The win at No. 24-ranked Missouri on Feb. 28, 2016, was also the last time Vanderbilt collected a win over a ranked team on the road.
Another 30-Point Outing for Blakes
Freshman Mikayla Blakes followed up her SEC and NCAA freshman single-game scoring record 55-point performance by scoring 34 points at No. 16/16 Oklahoma. The Somerset, New Jersey, native made a career-high seven 3-point field goals, which is tied for the fifth-most made in a game by a Commodore in program history.
It was Blakes’ fifth game of the season with 30 or more points, which leads all freshmen nationally and is tied for fourth-most by an NCAA Division I player this season. Blakes’ 34 points vs. the Sooners are tied for the fourth-most points scored in a game by a Vanderbilt freshman, matching Barbara Brackman’s 34-point effort vs. Tennessee on Feb. 26, 1982.
Elevating Her Play in the SEC
Mikayla Blakes’ 28.0 points per game in SEC play is the highest scoring average in league play this season. Blakes has scored 30-plus points in five SEC games this season, a mark that paces the league, while her 55-point outing at Auburn (Feb. 16) and her 53 points at Florida (Jan. 30) are the top two scoring performances in all of NCAA Division I this season.
Overall, her 23.4 points per game average ranks second in the SEC, while it is the sixth-best scoring average in the country and paces all freshmen nationally. Blakes is the first NCAA Division I player since Mississippi Valley State’s Patricia Hoskins in 1988-89 to have multiple 50-point outings in the same season.
Scouting the Gamecocks
South Carolina, the defending national champions, comes into Sunday at 24-3 overall and 12-1 in SEC play. The Gamecocks are No. 6 in this week’s AP Top 25 and USA Today/WBCA Coaches Polls. Oklahoma enters the weekend at No. 2 in the NET rankings.
Freshman Joyce Edwards leads a trio of double-digit scorers for the Gamecocks at 13.2 points in 20.9 minutes per game off the bench. Sophomore MiLaysia Fulwiley, who also plays a reserve role for USC, is putting up 11.6 points and senior Te-Hina PaoPao is chipping in 10.2 points per game. South Carolina also features four players averaging between 7.0 and 9.3 points per contest this season, led by junior Chloe Kitts.
The Gamecocks are putting up 80.7 points per game through 27 games this season. South Carolina is shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 33.5 percent on 3-point field goals. Defensively, teams are putting up 57.2 points per game against the Gamecocks, while shooting 34.8 percent from the floor and 29.5 percent from behind the arc.
