Vanderbilt’s Second-Half Rally Snaps Two-Game Skid
If one didn’t watch the game and only saw the final score of the Vanderbilt-Florida women’s basketball contest – an 82-66 win for the Commodores – it would likely be assumed Vandy cruised to an easy victory over a lower tier SEC team. It would probably be surprising to find out the Commodores actually trailed for the majority of the game – by as much as 15 points – but that was the case in this strange Sunday afternoon contest.
The win was much needed for a Vanderbilt team coming off two straight losses. But both of those were on the road to ranked teams. Florida came into the game at just 1-7 in the conference. Falling to the Gators at home, in front of a raucous crowd of 9268 on $1 ticket day, frankly, would have been the first really bad loss of the season.
However, that’s how the game was trending early. Just like in their two losses, the Commodores got off to a horrible start. Florida scored the first six points of the game and jumped out to a 19-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Me’Arah O’Neal – who is also Shaquille O’Neal’s daughter – hit a layup with just under eight minutes left in the half to give the Gators their largest lead at 25-10 prompting Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph to call a timeout.
After giving her team a very “animated” conversation on the bench, Ralph pulled three of her starters – Sacha Washington, Justine Pissott, and Aubrey Galvan – and put reserves Aiyana Mitchell, Aga Makurat, and freshman Ava Black in the game. Makurat and Black have been toward the back of the rotation for much of the season so seeing them this early in the game was surprising. And as it turned out, genius.
The bench gave the team a much-needed jolt of energy and a 13-2 run for the Commodores brought them to within four at 27-23 with just over three minutes left in the half. Still, the Gators weathered the storm, with a 7-2 run to close the first half with a 34-25 lead.
Vandy shot just 32% in the first half, 16% on three pointers, and didn’t attempt a free throw. Star Mikayla Blakes had 6 points on 3-11 shooting, missing all 7 of her three-point attempts. Galvan was overmatched by Florida’s talented point guard Liv Mcgill, going scoreless in the first half missing all five of her shot attempts.
Yet as poorly as Vanderbilt played in the first 20 minutes, they were simply amazing in the second half. It was like the Washington Generals transformed into the Harlem Globetrotters.
In particular, the Commodores won the game in the third quarter, where they were nearly flawless. After a layup by O’Neal to open the half gave the Gators an 11-point lead, Vandy’s offense finally came alive with a 15-3 run to take their first lead of the game 40-39 with just over four minutes left in the quarter.
The teams traded baskets with Florida taking a 44-43 lead before Vandy went on a quick 11-0 run to take control 54-44. With 5 seconds left in the quarter, McGill picked Galvan’s pocket and drew a foul – hitting 1 of 2 from the line. But Galvan more than redeemed herself by hitting a massive three pointer just inside halfcourt to give the Commodores a 57-45 lead heading into the final quarter. Vandy scored 32 points in the third – more than their first half total – on 85% shooting.
In the final frame the Gators would get no closer than 10 points, and Vandy would extend their lead to as many as 22 points (a remarkable 37-point turnaround), as they coasted to the win.
After her miserable first half, Blakes took over the game like the All-American she is scoring 24 points in the second half on 7-9 shooting and hit all three of her 3-point attempts. Blakes finished with a game high 30 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals.
“I’ll run through a brick wall for this team” Blakes said after the game.
Like Blakes, Galvan and Washington also played much better in the second half. After a scoreless first half, Galvan finished with 9 points and 5 assists. Washington had just 2 points in the first half but finished the game with 14 points and 6 rebounds.
Pissott kept Vandy in the game early, scoring 8 of Vandy’s 10 points in the first quarter. She also hit a couple of big three-pointers in the second half to finish with 14 points of 4-7 from three.
The Commodores shot a remarkable 76% from the field in the second half, 67% from three, and hit 11-13 free throws for 85%. For the game, they finished at 51% from the field and 35% from three.
Florida was led by O’Neal who finished with 22 points and 8 rebounds, while McGill followed her with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.
The come from behind win was a much-needed reprieve, but the Commodores need to figure out how to start the game better with a tough showdown coming up Thursday at #18 Kentucky in Lexington. If Vandy spots the Cats a big lead, they won’t be as forgiving as this Florida team.
Ralph said the tough losses helped prepare her team for the SEC gauntlet.
“It was a long week. Those (previous) two games were tough and against really good teams that played really hard. But those are the games that are going to make us better,” Ralph said after the game.
“Now, I wish we had learned it before the second half today, but the response that I saw, and the way that we finished the game, were huge in terms of the growth that we need from here on out to the end of the season.”
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