by Don Mooney
photo by Altonita Washington
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 12/11-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team scored its biggest victory of the Shea Ralph era on Sunday, as the Commodores knocked off No. 5/5 LSU, 65-61, in a defensive battle at Memorial Gymnasium.
Sophomore Mikayla Blakes took over in the fourth quarter to help Vanderbilt collect the come-from-behind victory over the No. 5-ranked team in the nation. The All-American scored 15 of her game-high 32 points in the game’s last stanza, shooting 55.6 percent in the frame (5-of-9) with a pair of 3-point field goals over the final 10 minutes.
photo by Altonita Washington
LSU led 54-52 with 2:20 left to play in the game after a 3-point possession. Blakes went to work from that point, as the Somerset, New Jersey, registered 10 of Vanderbilt’s final 13 points to close out the game. Blakes also assisted on the go-ahead 3-pointer from freshman Aubrey Galvan with 2:05 remaining gave the Dores a lead they would never relinquish.
With the victory, the Commodores score their first win over a top-five team under Ralph. The Dores now stand at 15-0 overall and 2-0 in SEC play. It is the first time since the 2008-09 season that Vanderbilt has defeated a team ranked inside the top five in both major college women’s basketball polls. The last time it happened was on Feb. 19, 2009, when the Dores posted a 73-70 win over No. 3/3-ranked Auburn at Memorial Gym.
photo by Altonita Washington
Vanderbilt extends its season-opening winning streak to 15 games, as the 2025-26 team now stands alone for the second-best start in school history. The win over LSU breaks a tie with the 1995-96 team. Only the 1992-93 Final Four team has gotten off to a better start in school history, as that team won its first 17 games of the season.
Blakes scored a game-high 32 points against LSU, as the guard recorded her second-straight 30-point performance to open SEC play. The sophomore played all 40 minutes on Sunday and added a team-best four assists to go along with three steals. It is the third time in her short but illustrious career that Blakes has registered back-to-back games with 30 points; it is the first time this season she has accomplished the feat. Blakes also extends her double-digit scoring streak to 34 games, breaking a tie with assistant coach Ashley Earley for the second-longest streak by a Dore since 1999-00.
Freshman Aubrey Galvan also scored double-digits in the win, as the point guard tallied 14 points and added three steals to her stat line. The Deerfield, Illinois, native hit a career-best four 3-pointers, which included the go-ahead trifecta late in the fourth quarter.
photo by Altonita Washington
The Commodore defense put on its best performance of the season, as Vandy held the highest-scoring team in the nation to a season-low in points. The Dores held the Tigers to 45 points lower than their season scoring average coming into Sunday. The black and gold forced the No. 5-ranked team in the nation to a season-high 22 turnovers and held the Tigers to their lowest field goal percentage of the season at 43.1 percent.
photo by Altonita Washington
“First, I want to thank the fans and everyone for being here today. I love playing in a gym that loud, and it made a huge difference today for us. Thank you to Commodore Nation. Secondly, we came here to win. I love having Mikayla and Sacha at the press conference with me today because everything they did on the court made an impact for us to win this game. Sasha’s been here with us for five years. We’ve been through some ups and downs. Mik’s only been here for a year-and-a-half, but she has changed the landscape of our program, because she is Her. You all saw it today.
photo by Altonita Washington
It wasn’t just these two. It was a full team effort, which is what we needed. I think every single person on our team made a huge impact on the win today. I’m proud of this group. It’s still only January, and we have a long way to go. We have another big game on Thursday, but we are sure going to enjoy this one.”