In the first game of the season, Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball (1-0) dominated Lipscomb (0-1) 102-50, with students from Metro Nashville Public Schools in attendance for Education Day. This marks the first time that Vanderbilt eclipsed the triple-digit mark since it defeated Tennessee Tech 106-55 on Nov. 25, 2019.
Mikayla Blakes and Khamil Pierre were both dominant in the contest, combining for 48 points and connecting on over half of their shots. It wasn’t just those two, as every Commodore saw the ball enter the basket in this matchup — four even scored double figures. Vanderbilt also put heavy pressure on the defensive end, with non-stop presses and traps leading to 23 Bison turnovers and shooting splits of 28% from the field and 17% from three.
“I think [our defense] was effective, but I also thought we gave up a lot of open shots,” head coach Shea Ralph said. “I am proud of the consistent effort defensively. That’s been something that we’ve struggled with…. I thought a lot about today was good defensively, but I would like to see us clean up some key areas if we try to play like that and don’t pay attention.”
With Sacha Washington, Justine Pissot and Lailani Kapinus absent, Ralph rolled out a starting lineup of returners Iyana Moore, Jordyn Oliver and Pierre alongside freshman Blakes and graduate transfer Jane Nwaba.
The Commodores asserted dominance immediately, opening the game on a 6-0 run, including 2 offensive rebounds, before a Lipscomb 3-pointer halted the momentum. After Blakes scored the first basket of her career — a step-back jumper from the right elbow — Lipscomb buried a three-pointer, stole the Vanderbilt inbound and put up a layup, leading to a 5-0 Bison run in a matter of seconds, tying the game at 8.
Vanderbilt would swing the momentum right back in its favor with a 6-0 run of its own, forcing three turnovers and snagging four offensive rebounds in a two-minute stretch to take a 14-8 lead and force Lipscomb to burn a timeout.
Following the timeout, the rapid and chaotic pace lulled, but the Commodore scoring did not. Vanderbilt outscored Lipscomb 17-7 to end the quarter, including an Aiyana Mitchell and-1 (that she would fail to convert), an Aga Makurat 3-pointer, a pair of Pierre layups and eight straight points from Blakes.
The first quarter concluded with a score of 31-15 in favor of Vanderbilt. The Commodores led the rebounding battle 17-6 and forced eight turnovers. Lipscomb’s shooting was also an issue, going 3-10 from beyond the arc even though many of its shots were open looks. The real story, though, was Blakes. In her first collegiate quarter, the first-year scored 14 points on 50% shooting and grabbed 4 rebounds. She also logged an assist and a steal as the cherry on top.
“It definitely felt good to see my shots go in early,” Blakes said. “It gave me some energy and positivity to help my teammates out, too.”
The second quarter was much of the same, with Vanderbilt soaring for rebounds and looking up the court for fastbreak opportunities amidst the poor outside shooting from Lipscomb. Trinity Wilson, the 6’3” first-year forward, also logged the first minutes of her Vanderbilt career, dishing out an assist and grabbing an offensive rebound in her three minutes on the court. Pierre also shined in the second quarter, recording 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
At halftime, Vanderbilt held a commanding 53-25 lead. The Commodores also extended the rebound lead, besting Lipscomb 29-14 in that category. Vanderbilt also forced 15 turnovers, scored 17 fast break points and shot 51% from the field (albeit only 27% from three). Pierre and Blakes led all scorers with 17 and 16 points, respectively, while not a single Bison recorded double digits.
The second half opened with Vanderbilt and Lipscomb trading baskets for a while. Moore recorded six points in the first three minutes off a jab-step 3-pointer and an and-1 off a dribble penetration. Vanderbilt also put a lot more emphasis on getting Pierre the ball in the low block, a strategy that saw varying levels of success, as entry passes were deflected and Pierre even picked up an offensive foul.
About halfway through the quarter, Mitchell subbed in for Pierre. Mitchell — who only averaged 3.9 minutes per game last year, the lowest on the team — scored two baskets of her own from the post in four minutes. Wilson and Nwaba also got in on the fun, both scoring the first points of their Vanderbilt careers on layups from the right block.
The third quarter concluded 81-39. Lipscomb’s shooting troubles continued, as the Bison failed to convert from three in ten attempts. Vanderbilt, on the other hand, shot 85% from the field, including 2-3 from 3-point range.
Though Vanderbilt took its foot off the gas in the fourth, the team broke 100 thanks to a post hook from Jordyn Oliver with a little over a minute left to play in the game. The 100-point mark is the first of the four-year Shea Ralph Era, setting the tone for another season on West End.
“I don’t know [if] I could be more proud of our first game and our first effort,” Ralph said. “I feel like [in] our first game out of the gate, we had a full team effort with some key pieces missing.”
Vanderbilt will be back in action on Nov. 8 when it plays Austin Peay at 6:30 p.m. CST.
