Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball (19-9, 6-8 SEC) hosted Texas A&M (10-16, 3-11) on Feb. 27 in its last home game of the 2024-25 regular season. The Commodores started the game sloppily, but a dominant performance from Khamil Pierre (31 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 9 steals) was more than enough to lift her team to a  91-58 victory. Head coach Shea Ralph was

“It was good to get back in the win column today,” Ralph said. “If we can be really intense on [defense and rebounding], then our offense will come.”

The Aggies hung around for much of the first half and shot well from the field (44%) but were doomed by the Commodores’ stifling defense. Vanderbilt forced 15 first-half turnovers as Pierre racked up 4 steals and Blakes added 2. Justine Pissot’s 11 first-half points led all scorers in the game and Vanderbilt boasted a 37-25 at the contest’s midway point.

“It has been a rough year for me,” Pissott said. “When I went out there, [shooting] is what they trust me to do, so that’s what I did.”

The Commodores fared much better in the third quarter and pulled away from the Aggies early on. Vanderbilt made three 3-pointers early in the second half and cruised to a victory, despite its slow start. 

When all was said and done, the box score told a story of utter dominance for Vanderbilt. The Black and Gold shot 47.2% from the field and 37.5% from downtown while forcing 30 turnovers. 

“Our guys that came in and out of the game did a really great job of bringing [defensive] intensity and tenacity,” Ralph said. “Once we started clicking with all of that, the margin widened.”

First quarter

Pierre lost the opening tip but got her vengeance almost immediately with a steal and fast break layup for the first points of the game. Jane Nwaba padded the lead with a 3-pointer before Lauren Ware got the Aggies on the board with a short jumper from the left wing. Both teams exchanged buckets from down low as Pierre, Mikayla Blakes, Erica Moon and Amirah Abdur-Rahim made their presences known. 

A recently subbed-in Aiyana Mitchell and Kyndall Hunter exchanged missed layups before the ball rolled out of bounds and brought the game into its first media timeout with the ‘Dores leading 9-6. 

Sahara Jones drilled a triple fresh out of the media timeout to tie the game up and the Commodores struggled to find anything on offense for much of the rest of the period. Their scoring drought reached over four minutes before Leilani Kapinus connected on a layup to reclaim the lead for Vanderbilt. The ‘Dores got it going after that as Pissott drilled a stepback triple and Pierre grabbed her second steal and third bucket of the evening. 

The first-quarter buzzer ended with a miss from Pierre as Vanderbilt led 16-11. 

Second quarter 

Ware opened the second quarter with a layup in the low post but Pissott stayed locked in on offense, connecting on a deep triple. Janae Kent came right back with a triple of her own. Jordyn Oliver got herself on the board with a short jumper and Blakes ripped another steal before finding Pissott for her third deepball of the game. 

The Pissott show continued as she grabbed a steal and dished an assist to Madison Greene in transition to give Vanderbilt a 26-16 lead, its largest of the game. 

Blakes would later build on that lead with an and-1 layup as she fell away from the basket, converting the free throw as well. Things kept coming up Commodore as the Aggies couldn’t string together enough passes to lower the deficit, committing their 12th and 13th turnovers on two straight possessions. 

Texas A&M eventually ended the 9-0 run with a laup, plus the foul, from Hunter and a jumper from Kent. Jada Malone poured a layup in to cut Vanderbilt’s lead back to 10, but a Blakes layup ended the Aggies’ brief 7-0 scoring run. The half ended soon after that as Pierre missed a jumper at the buzzer with Vanderbilt leading 37-25 as both groups entered their respective locker rooms. 

Third quarter

Hunter and Kapinus were both addressed with technical fouls during halftime. Iyana Moore got on the board — the last Vanderbilt started to do so — with a triple from the left wing. Pierre made a pair of free throws before Blakes drilled a 3-pointer to enter double figures as Vanderbilt’s lead ballooned to 18 points. Hunter came right back with a triple of her own, but Pierre stayed sharp and hit back-to-back jumpers. 

Moore’s offensive explosion continued as she found space on the right wing for another 3-pointer. Pierre used nifty footwork down low to get open for a layup and extend Vanderbilt’s lead to 21 points with the scoreboard flashing 56-35 at the under-five media timeout. 

More offensive struggles from the Aggies — and dominance from Pierre — saw the ‘Dores quickly build a 30-point lead. Khamil Pierre’s 16-point third quarter gave way to a 70-39 Vanderbilt lead at the game’s final break. 

Fourth quarter

Pierre nabbed her ninth steal to open the quarter before Pissott connected on her fourth triple to balloon the Commodores’ lead even more. Blakes made a tough layup through contact, plus the foul, but a timely layup from Malone brought the deficit under 30. Pierre imposed her will inside, though, and got an and-one of her own to fall.

Pierre made a couple of buckets to reach the 3o-point mark before Vanderbilt put its reserves in and the game ended with the jumbotron flashing 91-58.

“We always want to win our last game at home,” Pissott said. “We owe it to our seniors.”

The Commodores will have a chance to end their season on a high note when they travel to Columbia to take on the Missouri Tigers at 2 p.m. CST on March 2.