Vanderbilt Commodores Star Freshman Guard Proving To Be an Instant Impact
It has been a great start of the season for the Vanderbilt Commodores women’s basketball team this year. The team has begun the year 2-0 after two dominant performances on their home court.
After making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 2013-14, the Commodores, led by head coach Shea Ralph, have found success easily this year despite the injuries to some of their key players.
Vanderbilt has started the season without forward Sacha Washington. Coach Ralph stated that Washington has been limited in practice due to a non-basketball-related health issue and has yet to suit up in the first two games. Washington is a huge hole to fill on the team, as she recently was recognized for reaching 1,000 career points in her collegiate career.
However, some of the first year players have truly stepped up in her absence, especially freshman guard Mikayla Blakes. Over the first two games, Blakes has shown why she was the program's top recruit. The freshman joined Vanderbilt after being a 5-star recruit who was ranked tenth in in the country according to ESPN.
On Monday, On3 added Blakes to their list as the top women's college basketball freshmen performances for the opening week of the season.
“Vanderbilt is facing some injury trouble to start the season off, which has given Mikayla Blakes an even bigger opportunity to prove herself and make an impact from the jump,” writes Talia Goodman of On3. “The Commodores didn’t play any threatening opponents, but Blakes showed off her versatility in both games this week. She averaged 19.5 points on 54% shooting from the field, four rebounds, three assists and 2.5 steals per game.”
The 2024 McDonald’s All-American is proving to be a huge asset to the team already and could be exactly what coach Ralph and the rest of the program need to get Vanderbilt Basketball to the next step.
After being projected to finish tenth in the SEC women's basketball preseason poll, the Commodores have a great chance this season to prove a lot of people wrong come March.
As some of the team’s top contributors continue to get healthy, Blakes must continue to refine her craft to help Vanderbilt in any way she can. Regardless of her roles when the team is fully healthy, she will undoubtedly make an immediate impact once she steps on the floor.
Having the opportunity to get this amount of playing time so early in your college career is going to be extremely beneficial, not only for Blakes but also for the rest of the roster as they prepare to enter conference play, beginning with the Georgia Bulldogs on January 2nd.
The team will look to move to 3-0 on the young season and keep its momentum strong while battling through its non-conference schedule on Thursday when it hits the road for the first time this year. The Commodores will head to the YuenglingCenter in Tampa, Florida, to take on the South Florida Bulls (2-1). Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will be available on ESPN+.
