[2] No. 6/6 Vanderbilt (29-4, 13-3 SEC) vs. [6] No. 22/25 Notre Dame (24-10, 12-6 ACC)
Friday, March 27, 2026 • 1:30 p.m. CT
Dickies Arena • Fort Worth, Texas • ESPN
94.9 The Fan • Vanderbilt Athletics App • Live Stats • Postseason Prospectus • Game Notes
FORT WORTH, Texas – The No. 2-seed Vanderbilt women’s basketball team is set to play in its first Sweet 16 contest in 17 seasons this Friday, as the Commodores take on No. 6-seed Notre Dame in the Fort Worth Region 1 semifinals. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. CT and will air live across the nation on ESPN.
Starting Five
>> Vanderbilt advanced to its first Sweet 16 since the 2008-09 season after collecting a 75-57 victory over No. 7-seed Illinois at Memorial Gymnasium this past Monday. It is Vanderbilt’s 15th Sweet 16 appearance, which is the 15th-most in women’s college basketball history.
>> Vandy has moved on to the Elite Eight a total of five times in program history. Vanderbilt is 5-9 all-time in the Sweet 16, as the Dores are looking to snap a four-game losing streak in the NCAA regional semifinal. The last time the Dores posted a win in the Sweet 16 came in 2001-02, when No. 1-seeded Vandy posted a 70-61 victory over No. 4-seed North Carolina, 70-61, in Ames, Iowa.
>> With 25 points in the second-round win over Illinois, Mikayla Blakes set the NCAA’s all-time sophomore scoring record with 892 points scored this season. The guard is seeking to move past Caitlin Clark for the third-most points scored by a player over their first two NCAA Division I seasons. Blakes needs two more points to move into third on the list, and 49 points away from passing JuJu Watkins of Southern California for second.
>> Vanderbilt’s 29 wins this season are the third-most in program history. One more victory would tie the program record of 30 victories set by the 1992-93 and 2001-02 teams.
>> Vanderbilt and Notre Dame meet for the second time in the NCAA Tournament, while it will be the sixth overall meeting between the two schools. Vandy is 1-4 all-time against the Irish. The last game between the two schools took place on Dec. 31, 2009, where the Fighting Irish posted a 74-69 home victory. The two teams met in the Elite Eight of the 2001 NCAA Tournament, where Notre Dame collected a 72-64 win.
Game Coverage
Friday’s contest airs live across the country on ESPN at 1:30 p.m. CT with Tiffany Greene and Carolyn Peck on the call. Fans can listen to Jake Lyman locally on 94.9 The Fan and the Vanderbilt Commodores app outside of Nashville.
Vandy Single-Season Scoring Record
>> Mikayla Blakes set the Vanderbilt single-season scoring record with 892 points scored in 2025-26. She broke Wendy Scholten’s previous record of 855 points scored during the 1989-90 campaign in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Blakes Closing in on SEC Single-Season Scoring Record
Mikayla Blakes’ 892 points this season are also the second-most by an SEC player in the NCAA Era (1981-82 to present), while she needs 24 points to break Chamique Holdsclaw’s current SEC record of 915 points scored during the 1997-98 season.
Splash Sisters
Senior Justine Pissott and sophomore Mikayla Blakes are the only pair of teammates this season to make over 90-plus 3-point field goals. They are only the third set of SEC teammates this century to make 90 or more 3-pointers in a season.
Pissott’s 95 made 3-pointers are tied with Caroline Williams (2005-06) for most in a single season in Vanderbilt history. Blakes’ 93 made 3-point fields are the third-most in a season in school history.
Making it Rain
Vanderbilt made 11 3-pointers in the second-round win over Illinois. It marked the 19th time this season that the Dores have connected on 10 or more shots from behind the arc in a game. The 19 games with 10-plus made 3-pointers are the second-most in all of NCAA Division I this season and one off the leader, Richmond’s 20 games.
A Historic Start to March Madness
Mikayla Blakes has scored 25 or more points in all three NCAA Tournament games she has played in her career. She enters the Sweet 16 as one of nine NCAA players ever to have opened their March Madness career with three or more 25-point performances.
Chasing Records
Freshman Aubrey Galvan needs four assists to set the Vanderbilt freshman single-season record for most assists in a season. Galvan currently has 190 assists this season, which is five short of Ashley Smith’s current freshman record of 193 set during the 1997-98 season.
Senior Justine Pissott needs to make one more 3-point field goal to break a tie with Caroline Williams (2005-06) for the Vanderbilt single-season record for most made 3-pointers. Pissott has made 95, which matches Williams’ total from the 2005-06 season. Mikayla Blakes has made 93 3-point field goals this season, which is two shy of the current Vanderbilt single-season record.
Additionally, Blakes has scored 10-plus points in 52-straight games, which is tied for the longest double-digit scoring streak by a Commodore this century. She matches Chantelle Anderson’s streak of 52 games during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.
CSC Academic All-District
The 2025-26 Academic All-District® Women’s Basketball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators was announced this week. Vanderbilt had a total of trio of Commodores earn CSC Academic All-District honors, as Mikayla Blakes, Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda and Aga Makurat were each selected. Blakes moves on to voting for the CSC Academic All-America team.
Scouting the Fighting Irish
No. 6-seed Notre Dame advanced to the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament after an 83-73 win at No. 4-seeded Ohio State this past Saturday. The Fighting Irish hold a 24-10 overall record and went 12-6 in the ACC during the regular season. Notre Dame is ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press top 25 and No. 25 in the USA Today WBCA coaches poll.
The Fighting Irish have a total of three players averaging double-digit points this season, led by junior All-American Hannah Hildalgo’s 25.2 points per game. Seniors Cassandre Prosper (13.7 ppg) and Iyana Moore (12.2 ppg) round out the trio. Moore played for Vanderbilt from 2022-25 and ranks 24th on the Vandy all-time scoring list with 1,310 points in three seasons.
Notre Dame averages 78.1 points per game and allows 65.0 points per game. The Fighting Irish are shooting 46.5 percent from the floor and 35.6 percent from behind the arc. Defensively, Notre Dame allows opponents to shoot 42.5 percent from the field and 31.4 percent beyond the 3-point line.
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