Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball is built for late March. 

It’s early in the season and this claim might be premature, but the Commodores are rolling. Coming off of five straight wins, head coach Shea Ralph’s team is not just winning, it is dominating opponents. With just one game remaining in nonconference play, Vanderbilt is proving that it has taken a step up since last year’s historic season: It is beating weak opponents by larger margins and showing a newfound depth that wasn’t present last year. 

Vanderbilt has been busy racking up more wins since our last Memorial Minutes. It cruised to an easy 80-66 win over Dayton on Dec. 19 — led by Madison Greene’s 25 points — and then thrashed West Georgia 103-68 on Dec. 21. Now sitting at 12-1 — with its sole loss against a solid Michigan State team on Nov. 27 — there is a large enough sample size to confirm that this team is legit. Granted, the level of competition hasn’t been too high, but beating teams by an average of 36.8 points is nothing to scoff at. With a gauntlet of an SEC schedule approaching, the signature wins and media attention will come. Just give it time. 

The statistics don’t lie, and they prove that this team is worthy of national attention. The Commodores have risen to No. 12 in the NET rankings and No. 16 in Torvik as they campaign to be a top seed in the NCAA Tournament in March. The fact that this team hasn’t been ranked in the AP Top 25 is puzzling. Nevertheless, Ralph isn’t concerned with a number next to Vanderbilt’s name: She’s just focused on building team chemistry and rhythm. 

Now 13 games into the season, the key contributors on the roster are known. Khamil Pierre and Mikayla Blakes have cemented themselves as one of the strongest duos in the country, both on the defensive and offensive side. Greene is a rising star while transfers Jane Nwaba and Leilani Kapinus are defensive strongholds. Even Sacha Washington — who has been ruled out for the season with a blood clot — has become a cornerstone of culture.

The sky is truly the limit for this Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball team. They have passed their first test, nonconference play, with flying colors. SEC play soon awaits, but it seems the Commodores are capable of beating any team. 

Dynamic Duo 

Everyone loves a good dynamic duo: Batman and Robin, Mario and Luigi or Bert and Ernie. I’ll add Blakes and Pierre to this list of pairings  — they’ve just been that good this season. 

Now a sophomore, Pierre has become a scoring machine in the frontcourt, averaging a team-high 22.2 points per game. This average puts her at No. 6 in all of NCAA Division I scoring. Her 42 points against Evansville (a program record) was extremely impressive, but her ability to deliver consistent results every game has brought her team to new heights. She’s hit double digits every game, recently putting in 14 against Dayton and 23 against West Georgia. Her rebounding prowess also can’t be ignored. Averaging 11.5 per game, Pierre ranks No. 6 in NCAA DI in average rebounds per game. These are unbelievable stats, and she is by far Vanderbilt’s most efficient scorer and all-around player. 

Blakes has been impressive in her own right, particularly as a true freshman, and is making her name quickly known in college basketball. The Somerset, New Jersey native is averaging 20.3 points per game as Vanderbilt’s top guard while shooting a highly efficient 46.8% from the field. She has also hit double-digit scoring in each game this season and consistently looks like a better athlete and shooter than her opponents. Blakes is also making a case for National Freshman of the Year as the No. 2 true freshman scorer in the country. Her 3-point percentage — which sits at 31.2% — could use some work, but expect this skill to develop further in SEC play.

So far, I’ve just analyzed these players individually but they are unstoppable as a pair. The best part about a dynamic duo is that they make each other better. Blakes and Pierre do just that, leading both the frontcourt and backcourt. Blakes commonly finds Pierre down low for easy buckets around the basket while Pierre can dish it out to Blakes on the perimeter if she is guarded in the paint. It runs like clockwork in games, and if one is guarded, everybody knows the other will make a play. 

Blakes and Pierre are one of the best duos in the country, and as Blakes becomes even more comfortable against tougher competition, the pair will be the factor that makes this team a national contender.

Defense, defense, defense

While a lot can be said about Vanderbilt’s high-scoring offense — averaging 88.3 points per game — its defense has also taken a step up. The Commodores rank fourth in the SEC in points allowed at 54.9 while allowing just 26% 3-point shooting. Vanderbilt also ranks 16th in the nation — per Bart Torvik —  in adjusted defensive efficiency, which measures how many points a team is expected to allow per 100 possessions against an average offense. It is right in front of Alabama and Iowa, two major Power Four programs.

These numbers are very significant and have improved as the season has dragged on. Against West Georgia, the Commodores generated 17 steals and 9 blocks en route to a convincing win. Similarly, Vanderbilt gathered 16 steals to beat Dayton, a much stronger team than West Georgia. In fact, the Commodores have the second-highest steal percentage in the conference. 

So who is leading this defensive surge? Nwaba, Kapinus and Jordyn Oliver have been defensive cornerstones on Ralph’s roster. Nwaba and Kapinus, two new transfer additions this season, have been hounding the ball. Kapinus leads this team in blocks and has the height (5’10”) to guard in the paint and on the perimeter. Moreover, her back-to-back All-Big Ten Defensive Team honors indicate that she is capable of defending the bigger and more athletic SEC players she will soon encounter. Nwaba — a Pepperdine transfer — has an even larger frame (and the same height) as Kapinus. She is fantastic at making ball handlers uncomfortable on every level of the court. The addition of both Kapinus and Nwaba only increases the defensive threat that Vanderbilt poses.

Oliver has led Vanderbilt’s defense for several years and has continued to be a leader on the floor. While she isn’t necessarily playing a majority of minutes, she adds a needed defensive spark when she gets on the hardwood. This was evident with her three blocks and four steals in 17 minutes of play against West Georgia.

Vanderbilt’s defense has been stepping up in big ways to earn easy wins in nonconference play. With a high-scoring offense and a scrappy defense, there’s no stopping the Commodores right now. 

Braving the conference crucible

Games will get considerably harder for Vanderbilt when it begins SEC play. The Commodores played a relatively easy nonconference schedule, particularly when it comes to its two Power Four matchups. Outside of Michigan State — the Commodores’ sole loss this season — the next highest ranked team Vanderbilt played was Miami, who ranks No. 71 in the NET. There have been no signature wins to catapult the Commodores into the AP Top 25. 

It’s not always a bad thing to schedule an easy nonconference, however. The SEC is a grueling test, so picking up easy wins to gain confidence and easy victories in the first two months of the season is always helpful. Teams can get into a rhythm and find their best lineups during these early games. 

Still, this team has yet to be truly battle-tested. But they will be in about a week. Early SEC Games against Georgia (Jan. 2), Kentucky (Jan. 5) and Ole Miss (Jan. 9) will be critical in determining if this team is truly one of the best in the country. These three SEC foes rank lower in the conference and offer great opportunities for Ralph and Co. to prove that their dominance in nonconference play was no fluke. If they falter in these early SEC matchups, they could be in for a world of hurt when facing teams like LSU or Tennessee. 

Nevertheless, Vanderbilt has its foot on the gas pedal right now, showing no signs of slowing down. Memorial magic is back, for both men’s and women’s basketball, and the hype on West End is tangible. The Commodores will face Alabama A&M on Dec. 29 at 11 a.m. CST to finish the nonconference slate before entering SEC play.