Vanderbilt WBB Wins Big on Senior Day: The Anchor
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Vanderbilt women’s basketball finished its home late with a big win over No. 24 Alabama 85-60 Thursday night.
Vanderbilt was able to jump off to a fast start, leading 28-16 after the first quarter. But Alabama did punch back as the Crimson Tide outscored Vanderbilt 16-8 in the second quarter and cut the Commodores’ lead to 36-32 going into halftime.
But what feels like every game, Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph and her team made adjustments and it paid off in a big way. Vanderbilt came out of halftime on fire on both ends of the floor and turned what was a close game into a blowout pretty quickly. The Commodores ended up out-scoring Alabama by 15 in the third quarter before extending their lead in the final quarter to come out with a blowout victory.
The star of the night for Vanderbilt was none other than Mikayla Blakes. Blakes finished with 35 points on 11-for-21 shooting and 6-for-13 from three-point land. Her performance was the fifth consecutive game scoring 30 points or more against a ranked team. Since the 2021-2022 season, that is most consecutive games scoring 30 or more against ranked competition. She passed former Iowa great Caitlin Clark in that stat.
For Vanderbilt, the Commodores finished the season undefeated at home for the first time in program history with an outstanding 16-0 record. With the win, Vanderbilt also clinched either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament next week in Greenville.
Before the SEC Tournament, Vanderbilt finishes its regular season on the road against Tennessee Sunday. The Commodores and Volunteers tipoff at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Countdown to Vanderbilt’s 2026 Football Season Opener
190 days
The Anchor: Friday, Feb. 27, 2026
- Vanderbilt soccer released its spring schedule that features five exhibition games between March and April. The Commodores will host Lipscomb March 4 before playing Virginia Tech in Maryville, Tennessee on March 22.
- Vanderbilt baseball has two players in the top six in home runs among all power conference players. Braden Holcomb is tied in front with four others, including Roch Cholowsky and Will Gasparino of UCLA and Judd Utermark of Ole MIss with six home runs while Brodie Johnston is tied with several others with five home runs.
- Vanderbilt men’s golfer Michael Riebe was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for tying for first on the player leaderboard at the Watersound Invitational.
Thursday’s Commodores Results
No. 5 Vanderbilt women’s basketball beat Alabama 85-60.
Friday’s Commodores Schedule
Vanderbilt lacrosse vs. Cincinnati, 12 p.m. CT.
Vanderbilt women’s tennis vs. No. 2 Texas A&M, 2:30 p.m. CT.
Vanderbilt baseball vs. UC Irvine at the Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Classic (Las Vegas, Nevada), 4 p.m. CT on D1Baseball.com.
Vanderbilt men’s tennis at Oklahoma, 4 p.m. CT.
Vanderbilt track and field at the SEC Indoor Championships, Day 2 (College Station, Texas).
Commodores Quote of The Day
"The only way I can make it through this season is if they keep winning.”Coach Roy Skinner in 1974
We’ll Leave You With This…
Another 30-piece for Mikayla Blakes 💯
— Vanderbilt WBB (@VandyWBB) February 27, 2026
That's five straight against Top-25 teams. pic.twitter.com/cZ1KAP6Ntx
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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