The Vanderbilt Commodores (8-1) bounced back from their heartbreaking loss to Michigan State with a dominating win over Appalachian State (3-4), 94-40 on Sunday, Dec. 1. 

The Mikayla Blakes-Iyana Moore tandem was in full effect in Memorial Gymnasium all afternoon. The first-year phenom Blakes recorded 20 points and 6 assists to go along with her season-high 7 steals. The veteran Moore wasn’t far behind, with 13 points herself.

But as good as Vanderbilt’s top two were, its win was a whole team effort. Every Commodore to touch the floor in the game scored. Aga Makurat and Aiyana Mitchell had their best games of the season, scoring 10 points apiece, while Jane Nwaba put in 12 herself on 4-of-5 shooting.

“My teammates were really, really supportive,” Mitchell said. “And my staff [was saying] ‘you got it. You’ve got to just do the same thing you’ve been doing.’ And so I was pretty confident that, with the support of everyone, [my first start] was going to go well.”

The ‘Dores also locked in on defense, forcing 21 turnovers leading to 21 fastbreak points. The Mountaineers were limited to under 30% shooting from the field and converted 3 of their 16 three-point attempts, an 18.8% clip.

First quarter

Mitchell joined Blakes, Jordyn Oliver, Moore and Jane Nwaba in the starting lineup, with Khamil Pierre sidelined for the game. The details of her injury are unknown, but she was seen wearing a boot pregame.

Appalachian State opted to open the game in an active 2-3 zone. Right from the tip-off, Vanderbilt began to pick the zone apart. Blakes received the ball on the left wing, forcing an over rotation from the Mountaineer guards and opening the right block for a cutting Nwaba, who Blakes fed for the game’s first basket. 

Vanderbilt, as always, immediately opened in an energetic 2-2-1 press that rattled the Mountaineers into a steal — which Blakes picked up and scored a 3-pointer on. Vanderbilt would open on a 10-0 run against the Mountaineers before the visiting team called its first timeout

Appalachian State switched into a man-to-man defense following the timeout, placing the 6’0” Rylan Moffitt on 6’4” Mitchell. Mitchell sealed Moffitt in the low left block, received the entry pass and influenced a shooting foul where she’d convert two free throws. Vanderbilt continued its dominance into a 19-0 run before J’mani Ingram put the Mountaineers on the board with a layup a little under halfway into the quarter.

Appalachian State’s misfortunes would continue, with its attempt to return to zone defense being picked apart for layups and threes alike. Even worse, its lack of ball security on the offensive end led to numerous Vanderbilt fast breaks. By the second Mountaineer timeout of the quarter with two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the quarter, Vanderbilt led 25-2.

Moore would hold the ball at the top of the key for the last shot with 13 seconds remaining in the quarter. Receiving a screen from Mitchell, Moore stopped and popped a three to close the quarter with a 33-2 lead. 

Second quarter

Appalachian State scored its second basket — a floater by Hekla Nokkvadottir — on the quarter’s first possession. Appalachian State tacked on another two at the free-throw line on its next possession. Jordyn Oliver collected her own missed layup soon after and put the ball back up for Vanderbilt’s first score of the second frame, bringing the momentum back in the Black and Gold’s favor. Blakes would draw a charge on the defensive end, and after a possession where the ball touched every Commodore without a single dribble, Oliver would find her in the right corner for a three-pointer.

Appalachian State would score its seventh and eighth points on free throws with about five minutes left in the half. Vanderbilt came back down the court and, once again, tore up the Mountaineer zone. This time, after catching the guards on an over-rotation, Mitchell would seal the block defender and act as a pseudo screen for a curling Aga Makurat at the free-throw line, sinking the jumper off a feed from Blakes.

After another Appalachian State timeout, Mountaineer guard Emily Hege threw up a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock that grazed the front rim and landed in the hands of Zada Porter, who nailed a reverse putback layup. Elena Pericic would score in the ensuing possession, slyly cutting behind Mitchell, receiving the pass from Hege and notching two points before the Commodores’ defense even noticed her.

Trinity Wilson, who had been out-muscling the Mountaineer defense all quarter, put in her first points to end the half. After another strong seal, Wilson received the feed from Jada Brown, drop-stepped and converted the hoop plus some harm. Wilson would convert the and-one free throw and give the Commodores a 51-15 lead heading into the half.

The story of the half was the Commodore defense, forcing Appalachian State into ten turnovers and a 17.9% shooting percentage from the field. The Mountaineers had also yet to see a three-pointer convert, shooting 0-8 from deep.

Third quarter

After a great deal of misses on both sides, Nwaba opened the half with a pair of foul shots. Despite stealing the next Appalachian State inbound, the Commodores had yet another empty trip.  Appalachian State’s Eleyana Tafisi recorded the first field goal of the half instead, hitting Aiyana Mitchell with a hesitation move and bursting past for the layup. 

Nwaba eclipsed double-digit scoring the next time down the court, nailing a triple from distance off an Oliver dish. Mitchell then scored off a layup and Blakes would intercept a pass and go coast-to-coast for the fastbreak layup, sending Vanderbilt into the first media timeout of the third quarter up 60-19. 

Appalachian State came out of the timeout energized, scoring seven straight — including its first 3-pointer of the game from Asjah Inniss — before a Makurat baseline-out-of-bounds layup broke the run. Appalachian State hit its second long ball immediately after before Makurat returned the favor with a three of her own on Vanderbilt’s offensive end. 

Appalachian State would make one final basket before the quarter expired, with Vanderblt’s lead set at 65-31. 

Fourth quarter

The start of the fourth quarter was all about Mitchell. She scored six of the first eight points for the ‘Dores, including a strong offensive rebound over multiple defenders for a putback layup. Makurat would then get in on the action, running the floor on the fastbreak and converting the and-one off the pretty pass from Blakes. 

With about three minutes left, Ralph would give the starters a celebratory rest, but the hard play didn’t stop. Madison Greene electrified the arena with an and-one jumper from the right elbow and Jada Brown nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing for her first points of the game. 

After one final stop, Greene held the ball for the final buzzer to eruptions in Memorial Gymnasium. The Commodores were back to winning once again, a necessary momentum boost leading into another Power Four matchup against Miami on Wednesday.

“I think [Miami is] going to test us defensively,” Ralph said. “They run a bunch of different defenses, they have some experienced players at the guard position, some players in the post that are tall and finesse and some that’ll bully us down low if we let them. I’d like to see what my team looks like at its best. I don’t think that we’ve seen that yet.”

Vanderbilt will play the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, for the SEC/ACC Challenge on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 4 p.m. CST.