The best recruit in Vanderbilt history has done it again. Mikayla Blakes broke the NCAA freshman single-game scoring record for a second time by scoring 55 points against Auburn to eclipse her previous mark of 53 against Florida. At this rate, the first-year is set to score 57 by the next time Memorial Minutes is published.

Pleasantries aside, it has not all been sunshine and rainbows for Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball — the team is streaky, to say the least. After beating Georgia on opening day, the Commodores lost three straight, then won four and then lost another three before beating Auburn in their most recent game. If that isn’t a rollercoaster, I don’t know what is.

The past three games saw Vanderbilt fall out of the AP Poll after losing to Texas, drop a double-overtime heartbreaker at home to Mississippi State and nearly lose to one of the SEC’s worst teams in Auburn. It seems like Vanderbilt has the potential to be a dark horse candidate for a national championship talent-wise, but at the same time, it struggles in games that should be layups on paper.

If anyone disagrees with the assertion that Vanderbilt is a contender for the national championship, I present the following counterargument. Well, maybe less of a counterargument and more of (arguably) the best player in the nation.

The Commodores face a tough stretch ahead: No. 16 Oklahoma on the road and then No. 6 South Carolina at home. A strong finish to the season could give Vanderbilt home-court advantage for the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but it will have to hit its stride soon if it wants to carry any momentum into the postseason.

Outliers

While Mississippi State was a disappointing loss, it should be considered an outlier in Vanderbilt’s season. The slugfest was the first time a women’s basketball game had gone to overtime at Memorial Gymnasium since 1990, and it was Blakes’ worst shooting night of the season by far — the first-year is averaging 46.7% from the field this season but only managed 21.1% against the Bulldogs.

Commodores like Jordyn Oliver (8 points, 4-9 shooting) and Madison Greene (17 points, 6-11 shooting) covered for Blakes, but that isn’t to say Blakes was the reason they lost — she hit the jump shot that sent the game to its second overtime. Ultimately, it took an uncharacteristic down game from Blakes for the Bulldogs to manage a double-overtime win, and Vanderbilt’s depth still nearly bridged the gap.

The only other disappointing losses on the Commodores’ repertoire this season are the 76-61 and 96-78 home losses to Ole Miss and Kentucky. Otherwise, the team has looked good in every game it was favored in, and even in some games it wasn’t — like the wins over No. 15 Tennessee and No. 19 Alabama.

With that said, the outlier against Mississippi State should be ignored — the Commodores put up a valiant effort. The team could still easily advance to the Sweet Sixteen come March.

Maybe outliers shouldn’t be ignored, though — they may be the very thing that puts Vanderbilt over the top in the postseason. Another bad loss in the NCAA Tournament wouldn’t be a huge disappointment — qualifying for the tournament is impressive enough, and the Commodores are not favorites to win regardless. What the rest of the NCAA should worry about, though, is if Blakes has another outlier. A 50-point performance from the New Jersey native could be the catalyst for an upset deep into March Madness. Blakes’ two record-breaking games both came in Quad 1 wins on the road, so dropping another 50-piece in the big dance is not impossible.

The chosen one

Blakes may be the one to lead the Commodores to paradise — the Lisan al-Gaib of Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball, one could say. The headlines and awards keep pouring in for the first-year, and it’s impossible to ignore her star power any longer. After her NCAA record-breaking performance against Auburn, Blakes was named AP Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, SEC Co-Player of the Week, SEC Freshman of the Week and Dawn Staley Award Late Season Watch List member.

Blakes is the first player since WNBA legend Candace Parker to claim SEC Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week in the same week. A comparison can also be drawn between Blakes and an NBA legend: Lebron James, otherwise known as the Chosen One. Blakes is the first player in the NCAA, WNBA or NBA to post 55 or more points while playing every minute of a game since the King did so in 2005.

One thing Blakes demonstrated over the past three games is a veteran approach that is incredibly rare in first-years. Her ability to draw fouls is beyond her years. Over the past three games, Blakes shot 34 free throws — of which, she made 33. That’s 11 points per game off free throws alone. Blakes’ highest-scoring games are ones when she gets to the line, and the first-year is starting to realize that.

Blakes also finds different ways to contribute when she is struggling to score and never cracks under pressure. She racked up nine rebounds, four assists and five steals against Mississippi State. The Rutgers Prep graduate also knocked down a game-tying jumper in the final seconds of the first overtime against the Bulldogs — further demonstrating her composure in the clutch after already hitting a game-winner over Tennessee.

Blakes hasn’t even finished a season of college basketball, but the future is already looking brighter on West End. Her success shows that high-caliber recruits can thrive at Vanderbilt under head coach Shea Ralph and gain national recognition. The budding star will have three more years to develop after this one, and whether or not she brings a title to West End, she is proof that the program is a great place to develop.

Two-woman show

The past three games only saw two players besides Khamil Pierre and Blakes score in double digits, with Iyana Moore and Greene contributing 10 and 17, respectively, against Mississippi State. Notably, that was the game where Blakes struggled to score and others had to fill in. Moore only shot 3-12 from the field for those 10 points, which is concerning considering she is the third-highest scoring player on the team and is the next woman up when Blakes is struggling.

The roster is incredibly talented, but Vanderbilt’s role players haven’t gotten the chance to stretch their legs in recent games. Players not named Pierre or Blakes only took 18 shots against Texas and 17 against Auburn, compared to 39 and 46 by the duo of Pierre and Blakes in those respective games. Meanwhile, when Blakes was struggling against Mississippi State and other players filled in for her, they shot 14-40 (35.0%). All in all, the players that aren’t No. 1 and 12 are shooting 27-75 (36.0%) over the past three games.

Vanderbilt’s role players all have the potential to go off, as seen earlier in the season. Their struggles may be due to rust from game plans revolving around Pierre and Blakes or from a lack of confidence due to underutilization. Regardless, it shouldn’t take (literally) the best performance by a first-year in NCAA history to push this team past Auburn, but that’s what it took.

There aren’t many opportunities to build confidence in the supporting staff before postseason play begins for Vanderbilt. However, there are two games left in the regular season when Ralph may be able to give her role players more reps — one at home against Texas A&M and another on the road at Missouri. Both teams are under .500 on the season, and the matchups should be good tune-ups before the SEC Tournament for the Commodores.

The other two remaining games against Oklahoma and South Carolina are less favorable and Ralph will likely rely on her bread and butter — Pierre and Blakes — to have the best chance of picking up an upset. Still, the rest of the team will need to return to their earlier form for Vanderbilt to be a postseason threat.

Ralph will have some decisions to make when her team travels to Norman, Oklahoma, to take on the Sooners at 6 p.m. CST on Feb. 20.