Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball fell to the Oregon Ducks on March 21 in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament with a final score of 77-73.
The Commodores struggled offensively throughout this game. They were ice cold from the field — only shooting 37.3% as a team and were 2-of-14 from behind the arc. Mikayla Blakes and Khamil Pierre scored 26 and 17 respectively, but Iyana Moore only added 6 points (one field goal).
“Credit to my team and our players and the growth we continue to have,“ head coach Shea Ralph said. “Obviously not the result we wanted, that doesn’t take away from the season that we had and the position that we put ourselves in. And I think right now, especially when you’re younger, it’s hard to see that. Our locker room is struggling a little bit, but my hope is that as people who understand the value of struggle, that [the players] see the growth that they’ve had and that our program has had.”
First quarter
Oregon won the opening tip, and the Ducks nailed a 3-pointer. The Commodores answered with a Blakes layup from a backdoor cut off an assist from Pierre. The teams then traded offensive fouls — Amina Muhammad for the Ducks and Jordyn Oliver for the Commodores.
Pierre scored her first points at 4:55. After the first media timeout, the Commodores set up in their full-court press with Blakes and Leilani Kapinus at the head. This generated a Ducks turnover, but Vanderbilt was unable to capitalize. Later, after Aiyana Mitchell and Blakes switched a screen, Blakes fronted 6’8 Phillipina Kyei and drew an offensive foul on Kyei. Pierre picked up her second foul with 13.2 seconds left in the first quarter which put the Commodores in the bonus.
Second quarter
At the end of the first quarter, the Ducks led 12-9. Oregon scored the first points of the second frame after a Vanderbilt defensive miscommunication. Moore then drew a foul while shooting a layup — she went 2-for-2 from the line. Blakes stole the ball off an errant Oregon pass and finished the layup on the other end of the floor. Blakes then picked up her second foul on the following possession before Pierre checked back into the game and nailed back-to-back buckets — a short baseline shot and an elbow jumper. Pierre then picked up an offensive foul and checked out again.
After the media timeout, Oliver assisted Blakes on a layup as she through the lane. Oregon’s Katie Fiso responded with a layup of her own, and Blakes scored another layup on the next possession. Kapinus then pulled down an offensive rebound off a Moore miss from behind the arc. She went 1-for-2 from the line. After a Vanderbilt shot clock violation and a deep three from Oregon’s Peyton Scott, the quarter concluded with Moore getting fouled while shooting a 3-pointer. She went 2-for-3 from the line, and the Ducks led 36-25.
The Commodores couldn’t get hot from behind the arc — they shot 0-for-5 in the first half. Oregon, on the other hand, shot 4-for-7 from downtown, and this was the separator. At the start of this half, the Ducks struggled with Vanderbilt’s double teams and traps in the corners. As time progressed, Oregon got more comfortable and found ways to split the trap. In general, Vanderbilt’s press caused multiple disruptions and forced turnovers, but it could not capitalize. The Commodores scored 8 points off 11 Oregon turnovers. Vanderbilt’s half-court defense also forced three shot clock violations in the first half.
Third quarter
Oregon scored the first points of the second half off a Kyei layup. Kelly then converted an and-one opportunity, extending Oregon’s lead to 15. The Commodores did not score their first bucket of the quarter until 7:02 off an Oliver turn-around jumper. Jane Nwaba then hit a jumper of her own. After another Oregon 3-pointer from Nani Falatea, head coach Shea Ralph took a timeout.
Blakes hit the Commodores’ first 3-point basket of the game at 5:39 in the third quarter. Blakes then stole the ball but couldn’t finish on a fast break layup. After the media timeout, Pierre converted an offensive rebound and putback. Blakes then picked up her third foul while chasing an offensive rebound. After an Oliver offensive rebound, Kapinus hit a layup assisted by Moore. Pierre then hit a jumper, forcing an Oregon timeout. After another Oregon 3-pointer and a Kapinus layup to close the quarter, Oregon led by 13 with a score of 55-42.
Fourth quarter
Blakes turned the ball over on the opening possession, and Oregon’s Kelly hit a 3-pointer. Blakes then committed her fourth foul at 8:27 trying to defend Kyei and checked out of the game — Greene replaced her. Oliver then scored back-to-back buckets for the Commodores, and Pierre added one free throw. Ralph put Blakes back in the game with 6:31 to go. She was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and sank all three free throws. The Commodores then turned up their defensive intensity — Oliver scored a layup off a Moore steal, and Pierre caused a deflection on the next possession. Pierre scored a layup, and then Oliver stole the ball and hit a fast-break layup of her own, cutting the deficit to five and forcing an Oregon timeout.
“I think the biggest thing we talked about during halftime was getting our defense to translate to our offense,” Oliver said. “I feel like we picked up our defense in the fourth quarter, and then we got offense going.”
Blakes hit a jumper from the elbow with 3:15 to go in the game. She then stripped Kyei of the ball and drew a foul on Kelly. Kapinus then drew a foul on Fiso and went 1-for-2 from the line, cutting the deficit to four. Pierre scored a layup, was fouled by Kelly and sank the free throw, making it a one-point game. Oregon then air-balled a triple, but Pierre fouled Kelly and put Oregon in the bonus. Kelly hit one free throw, extending Oregon’s lead to two, and Vanderbilt called a timeout with 34 seconds left in the quarter.
Out of the timeout, Oregon forced a jump ball and took possession. It then took a timeout to advance the basketball, and Pierre tried to steal the ball but committed a foul, fouled out of the game and sent Oregon to the line. The Ducks missed both free throws, and Vanderbilt called a timeout.
The Commodores ran down the clock, and Kapinus hit a layup from the weak side, tying the score at 67-67.
Overtime
Justine Pissott took the tip, and Oregon controlled for the first possession. Pissot then hit a 3-pointer, Vanderbilt’s second of the game. After another Oregon triple, a Pissot free throw, and a jumper from Scott, Oregon led by two.
Moore responded with her first field goal of the game, hitting a jumper from the free throw line. Blakes then committed an offensive foul and fouled out of the game with 55.7 seconds left in overtime. Kapinus then fouled Kelly and fouled out, too. Greene and Nwaba replaced them. Kelly went 1-for-2 at the line, giving Oregon a 2-point lead. Pissott then fouled Scott, who missed both free throws, but the Ducks came down with the rebound, and Oliver fouled Scott. She sank both free throws, and Ralph took a timeout with 7.8 seconds to go. Oregon led by four, but Moore could not hit a triple in the final possession, and the Commodores fell 77-73.
“I think the way that we showed up today, both in the first half and the second half was what we’ve seen all year,” Ralph said. “I also think, for whatever reason, this team likes to fight out of a hole, and we dug ourselves a pretty big one. We showed up like the team that I truly believe we are for most of the second half, and unfortunately, we ran out of time.”
This game marks the definitive end of Oliver and Nwaba’s careers as Commodores. Seniors Kapinus and Moore have one more year of eligibility should they choose to take it.
