Vanderbilt Commodores Upset Tennessee Volunteers 71-70 Off Last-Second Shot
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The Vanderbilt Commodores and Tennessee Volunteers basketball rivalry delivered a pair of thrilling upsets this weekend as the Commodores Women's Basketball beats the buzzer to take the 71-70 victory.
It was Mikayla Blakes that came up clutch with a layup that went in the basket with .04 seconds left on the clock.
The Men's Basketball team was able to come away with an upset victory just a couple of days ago, now the Women's team gets in on the fun.
Vanderbilt now moves to an impressive 15-4 on the season and 2-3 in SEC play. It was a much-needed win to break a three-game losing streak.
The Commodores had been in control for a large portion of the game, but the fourth quarter was very rough for them. Vanderbilt had led for over 30 minutes of the game.
For much of the game, it felt like it was sophomore Volunteers guard Talaysia Cooper against the entire Commodores team. Cooper had 20 points with six rebounds.
She shot 2-of-4 from deep while the rest of her teammates combined for just 4-of-22.
It was her teammates finally coming through with a solid fourth quarter that brought them back into the game. Jewel Spear went 2-of-3 from deep in the last frame, making the shots when it mattered.
Vanderbilt had a three-headed attack with Khamil Pierre, Blakes and Iyana Moore.
Pierre got to the line with ease, shooting 12-of-14 from the charity stripe. Blakes was not far behind with 7-of-8 in her own right.
Not only did Blakes come up with the biggest shot of the season, she led the team with 23 points in this one.
The Commodores will continue the SEC season at home against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Thursday in a game that they should be massive favorites in.
Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders