The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University

The Vanderbilt Hustler
The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University since 1888
Follow Vanderbilt's journeys through March Madness here!
The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University

The Vanderbilt Hustler
The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University since 1888
Follow Vanderbilt's journeys through March Madness here!
The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University

The Vanderbilt Hustler
The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University
Follow Vanderbilt's journeys through March Madness here!

Women’s Basketball: Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes breaks her own record, sets NCAA freshman record with 55 point game

The first-year put up 55 points in an overtime away win versus the Auburn Tigers and became the first Division I player this century with 55 points and 5 assists in a game.
Lana English
Mikayla Blakes hits a jumper against Tennessee, as captured on Jan. 19, 2025. (Hustler Multimedia/Lana English)
Byline photo of Rhea Patney
By Rhea Patney, Managing Editor
Feb 16, 2025

Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball first-year Mikayla Blakes scored 55 points on Feb. 16, setting the NCAA freshman single-game scoring record and SEC women’s single-game scoring record, again. Blakes had previously set the record on Jan. 31 at Florida, putting up 53 points against the Gators. 

Blakes led her team to a 98-88 overtime win over Auburn. She was 15 of 28 from the floor, sunk two 3-pointers and was 23-24 from the free throw line. She scored 28 points in the second half and 11 points in overtime, and also contributed 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. She outscored the whole Auburn team 11-4 in overtime. 

This was the Commodores’ second overtime game in the past four days. Vanderbilt lost their double overtime game versus Mississippi State on Feb. 13 with a score of 85-77. 

“I just wanted to do what my team needed me to do to win. We lost in double overtime in our last game, and I told my team that we weren’t going to do that again,” Blakes said on the SEC broadcast after the game. “We didn’t want it to happen again, and one thing we lacked in our game against Mississippi State was our effort.” 

Vanderbilt struggled for most of this game against Auburn. The Tigers led by as much as 15 throughout the contest, and Vanderbilt came into the fourth quarter down 8 points. 

The Commodores slowly crawled back, and a Leilani Kapinus block with one minute to go led to a Khamil Pierre layup to tie the game. The Commodores then almost let their comeback slip, with Aiyana Mitchell getting called for a moving screen with 12 seconds to go, but Blakes was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer on the last possession of the game. She sunk all three free throws and brought the game to overtime.  

“Going through my mind was just to make them, pressure builds diamonds,” Blakes said. “So I think in those moments, you can’t crumble. You have to be confident in yourself. And my teammates were confident in me. They told me that I got this and that sort of let the butterflies go.”

Vanderbilt now holds a 19-7 record, with a 6-6 record in conference play. The Commodores will next face Oklahoma in Tulsa on Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. CST. 

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About the Contributors
Rhea Patney
Rhea Patney, Managing Editor
Rhea Patney (‘26) is majoring in medicine, health & society and communication of science & technology with a Spanish minor in the College of Arts and Science. She is from St. Louis and previously served as Deputy Data Director. When not writing for The Hustler, Rhea loves reading, watching women’s sports, playing ultimate frisbee and chasing sunsets with her friends. She can be reached at rhea.patney@vanderbilt.edu.
Lana English
Lana English, Multimedia Copy Editor
Lana English (‘27) is from St. Louis and is majoring in neuroscience and minoring in Data Science and History in the College of Arts and Science. Outside of The Hustler, you can find her drinking coffee, playing NYT word games, listening to the Binchtopia podcast or getting nostalgic looking at old pictures. You can reach her at lana.k.english@vanderbilt.edu.