Blakes leads Vanderbilt to 1st
Sweet 16 since 2009 with near triple-double in March Madness
[March 24, 2026]
By TERESA M. WALKER
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Mikayla Blakes scored 25 points as No. 2
seed Vanderbilt beat seventh-seeded Illinois 75-57 Monday night to
advance to the Sweet 16 in the women's NCAA Tournament for the first
time since 2009.
Vanderbilt (29-4) now is one off matching the 30-win seasons of the
1993 Final Four squad and the 2001-02 Commodores for most wins in
program history. The Commodores will play No. 6 seed Notre Dame, a
winner over Ohio State earlier Monday, in the Fort Worth 1 Region on
Friday in their 15th regional semifinal all-time.
“This is what I came here to do, and to continue to do it, not just
stop here, but for the upcoming years as well to be able to compete
for championships,” Blakes said. “I feel like this is a step in the
right direction for this program.”
Blakes just missed the first triple-double of her career. She
checked out with 2:12 left with 10 rebounds and nine assists along
with four steals. Justine Pissott scored 18 points, making four
3-pointers. Aubrey Galvan added 12.
Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph said it might've been her fault that
Blakes didn't get one more assist for the triple-double.
“She’s a really good basketball player, and I think right now the
narrative is that she’s a great scorer," Ralph said. "She is that,
but she’s also a great teammate. She also is a great playmaker.
She’s a great defender. She’s a great passer. She’s a great decision
maker. She’s fun to coach.”
Seventh-seeded Illinois (22-12) came in with the youngest team in
this tournament after having to replace four starters. The Fighting
Illini goes home still looking to end a Sweet 16 drought extending
back to their last berth in 1998. Coach Shauna Green says the youth
of this team gives lots of optimism moving forward.
"Let’s run this back,” Green said she told her team after the loss.
Berry Wallace led the Fighting Illini with 18 points, and Cearah
Parchment and Jasmine Brown-Hagger each added 12.
These teams split the previous two games with this the first between
the programs since November 1987. A lot has changed, especially for
Vanderbilt.
Blakes is the nation's leading scorer averaging 27.1 points a game,
and she set Vanderbilt's single-season scoring record in the first
round. The AP All-American and Southeastern Conference player of the
year missed her first three shots, so she stayed busy helping her
teammates.
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Illinois center Lety Vasconcelos (35) walks off the court after the
team's loss against Vanderbilt in the second round of the NCAA
college basketball tournament Monday, March 23, 2026, in Nashville,
Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Parchment gave Illinois its only lead on the
opening bucket before Vanderbilt took the lead for good with seven
straight points. Parchment hit a jumper, and Aaliyah Guyton added a
layup to pull the Fighting Illini within 7-6.
That was as close as Illinois would get as Vanderbilt finished the
first quarter scoring the final nine points for a 21-8 lead. The
Fighting Illini missed 11 consecutive shots and 13 of their final 15
in the quarter. Illinois outscored Vanderbilt 17-15 in the second
quarter with Vanderbilt up 36-25 at halftime.
Illinois got within nine in the third on a bucket by Maddie Webber
with 4:26 left. That's when Vanderbilt finished the quarter on a
14-4 run keyed by four straight 3s. Blakes hit a pair of those,
assisted on the other two 3s and finished the spurt with a jumper as
Vandy outscored Illinois 24-16 in the quarter for a 60-41 lead.
“When it was time for us to separate, did she miss any shots?” Ralph
said. “No. She made the toughest ones. It was time for us to
separate, the ball was in her hands.”
Perfect at home
Vanderbilt finished this season going undefeated at Memorial Gym in
18 games. The Commodores also improved to 16-2 in NCAA Tournament
games on this court.
Anchor D
Illinois ranked 26th nationally shooting 45.7% from the floor this
season, but Vanderbilt held the Fighting Illini to a season-low
29.6% (21 of 71). They also hit only 3 of 13 outside the arc (13%).
Green said no defense is good enough to help win on someone else's
court shooting that poorly.
“It’s just a bad time to not shoot it well,” Green said.
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