Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball headed east to Durham, North Carolina as a seven-seed in the NCAA Tournament for a matchup against the 10-seeded Oregon Ducks in the Round of 64. The ‘Dores, for much of the game, looked outmatched. Oregon’s leader and NCAA Tournament vet in Deja Kelly — a transfer from North Carolina — outpaced Vanderbilt. But the Commodores crawled back in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a layup from Leilani Kapinus to send the game into overtime. With Khamil Pierre fouling out of the game with 24 seconds left in regulation and then Mikayla Blakes fouling out herself at the end of the overtime period, Vanderbilt did not have an answer.
Let’s talk about it.
Unsettled
Going into the Round of 64, the Oregon Ducks had not made an NCAA Tournament appearance for two years. In turn, Vanderbilt was trying to redeem itself from a disappointing loss in last season’s Round of 64. Nerves were high, and it was apparent at the start of the game — especially on the Commodores’ side. Blakes kept the ‘Dores afloat with a pair of layups and two free throws early on while the rest of the team was uncharacteristically missing layups right below the basket. It wasn’t until Pierre made her first layup with 4:55 remaining in the first quarter that Vanderbilt felt somewhat settled into the game.
“Today I thought we looked a little bit nervous, but I intentionally tried to make it loose and free,” head coach Shea Ralph said. “Some of these kids have never been in the NCAA Tournament, [and for] some, their college career is ending in this tournament. I think you saw a little bit of that.”
In the second half, Vanderbilt started much the same as the first, disorganized and too urgent. Oregon, on the other hand, was calm and collected, making four field goals and a 3-pointer to put it up 48-29 halfway through the third quarter and Ralph called a timeout. After the break Vanderbilt once again seemed composed, it stretched the shot clock on an offensive play that resulted in a Blakes 3-pointer and then got a stop on consecutive plays.
By the time Vanderbilt settled in, though, the hole was too big, the Ducks’ offense, despite getting stopped much more, still held that lead.
Foul trouble
Pierre got into foul trouble quickly and, played just nine minutes of the first quarter and one in the second as a result. In Pierre’s absence, the Ducks knew that Vanderbilt’s offense was in Blakes’ hands and they stifled her on defense. Before Pierre’s return to the court in the second quarter, Vanderbilt had added just one point to its total: a single Iyana Moore free throw.
Upon Pierre’s return, the sophomore made two consecutive buckets to bring her team back in the game and shift the momentum in favor of the ‘Dores. Just minutes after she came in, though, Pierre was hit with another foul, her third of the game. Pierre did not return for the rest of the half, and Vanderbilt once again struggled to find production outside of Blakes. At the end of the first half, she had 56% of the Commodore’s points, while Pierre was the second leading scorer on the team with six points in her nine minutes of playing time.
With Pierre back on the floor for the third quarter, Vanderbilt’s offense was transformed. Not only did Pierre tally 5 points, but her presence spaced out Oregon’s defense, drawing them away from Blakes. But then, Ralph had to pull Blakes from the game when she was charged with her fourth foul with 8:05 remaining in the game. The first-year returned just two minutes later, her team needing her offensive impact. Eventually, Pierre fouled out of the game with 26 seconds left, and her team was down by two points. While Blakes did not see the same fate, the foul trouble that the two got in did not do Vanderbilt any favors, in fact, it put a lid on its offense.
“I like to think that if we had our best players on the floor most of the game, that the outcome would have been different,” Ralph said.
Blanked beyond the arc
Vanderbilt was completely empty-handed from beyond the arc until the 25th minute of the game, when Blakes finally saw one go through the net from the right corner. Before that, the team had missed seven -straight 3-point shots. This stood in stark contrast to Oregon, who shot 50% from 3-point range in the first half. The ‘Dores ended at an abysmal 14% (2 of 14), with the second triple coming in overtime.
In March basketball, that is just not good enough.
Vanderbilt will end its season earlier than expected with its second-straight first-round exit. This was the first time since the 2013-2014 season that Vanderbilt had earned back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids, and the third time in Ralph’s tenure that the ‘Dores made the post-season. Vanderbilt will now sit with its loss, using it as an opportunity to grow ahead of the next basketball season beginning in November 2025.
