Vanderbilt freshman guard Mikayla Blakes made history at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Thursday night, breaking the NCAA freshman single-game scoring record with 53 points in the Commodores’ victory over Florida.
Blakes’ performance tonight is tied for the most-points scored at the O’Dome since LSU guard Chris Jackson in 1989 and beat USC sophomore guard Juju Watkins’ freshman record at 51.
“I think just getting into that mode that I’m going to do whatever my teammates need me to do to win, whether it's playing defense or coming in outside and helping with the post,” Blakes said. “I’m happy I scored these points, but I am mostly excited just that we won this game and that we're continuing to make history here and continue to win SEC games.”
The Florida Gators (11-11, 2-6 SEC) suffered their fourth consecutive defeat in conference play following a 99-86 loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores (18-4, 6-3 SEC) at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Thursday.
With six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Florida freshman guard Liv McGill stole the ball and scored a lay-up to cut Vanderbilt’s lead to only 10 points after the Gators were down by 20 at the half.
However, despite showing their resilience and strength down the stretch, the Gators were unable to snap their three-game losing streak and secure their first win over a ranked opponent since 2022.
“We've had quite a bit of adversity, but I'll say this. I love coaching this team. I love competing with them,” UF head coach Kelly Rae Finley said. “You know, we don't ever turn our backs on each other, and we're relentless and we're resilient, and as strong women, those are skills that you're going to take for the rest of your life.”
In what seemed to be a completely lost game for the Gators, they were still able to attempt a comeback in the second half.
After scoring zero points in the first quarter and four total in the first half, senior center Ra Shaya Kyle led Florida in scoring with 23 points on 11-for-15 shooting. Kyle, the third-ranked player in the SEC for double-doubles, also tallied a team-high of 12 rebounds, securing her 11th double-double.
“Just keep talking. Just make sure I make eye contact with them,” Kyle said. “Make sure [I’m] telling [my team] that I believe in them…and just keep encouraging them the whole time.”
Florida had three other Gator players reach double digit scoring: McGill (20), senior guard Jeriah Warren (13) and sophomore guard Laila Reynolds (12).
The highly-touted freshman recruit McGill found herself in foul trouble in both the first and second quarters, causing her to miss minutes and only score three points in the first half as a result. However, she did eventually reach double digits, marking her ninth outing with 20-plus points.
It seems as though the same story has been repeated for the Gators, as their struggles with turnovers and achieving a full 40 minutes of consistent play continue to hinder them in SEC play.
Vanderbilt scored 25 points off 13 turnovers by the half, and increased to 31 points off 18 by the end of the night.
Although Florida leads the SEC in three-point shooting from behind the arc (41.7), it only shot 25% in the first half and 20% by the end of the game. Blakes secured more three-pointers individually (five) than the Gators did the entire match (three).
Vanderbilt, ranked eighth in the country for offensive rebounds per game (16.4), had the advantage at the half with seven, compared to Florida’s five. However, the Gators ended up out rebounding them 16 to 12.
Florida had the early lead over Vanderbilt with Warren opening the game with a layup. However, the Commodores soon found their offensive rhythm and took the lead as the Gators began to slow down as the quarter drew on.
Both teams came out playing with intensity and aggression, with the lead flipping between both teams for the majority of the first quarter. After the media timeout in the first quarter, the Gators went on a 7-0 run. However, the Commodores responded with a 9-0 run to take the lead back at 19-14.
Blakes, who is the only freshman in the NCAA to have multiple 30 plus point outings, had reached 22 points by just the half.
Reynolds was the Gators’ main contributor in the first half with a team-high six points while other typical double-digit scorers were kept to only a few points.
Florida also felt the absence of freshman wing Me’Arah O’Neal, who missed the game due to an undisclosed illness.
By the end of the second quarter, Vanderbilt extended its lead to 20 points, holding the lead 46-26. The Commodores shot 47% from the field, compared to the Gators’ 32%.
Florida began to put up a fight in the third quarter and gained momentum as McGill began to find her footing, scoring eight points in the period. VU senior guard Iyana Moore scored 11 points to keep Vanderbilt afloat. Moore was the only other Vandy player to reach double-digits with 22 points.
“I thought in that second quarter we were a little hesitant, but we're just not our best when we're hesitant,” Finley said. Our focus needs to be the consistency in doing that every night for 40 minutes. And when we do that, we [are a] very, very talented, very strong basketball team. So I was pleased with our effort.”
In the fourth quarter, the Gators cut Vanderbilt’s lead to its lowest of eight points early in the period. Florida improved its field goal shooting to 49%, compared to Vanderbilt’s 53%.
In spite of Florida’s best efforts, UF was ultimately not enough to secure the victory and end Vanderbilt’s three-game winning streak.
“Credit to Florida, because they never quit. And they kept coming back at us and coming back at us,” Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph said. “They fought hard. They play hard.”
Florida next hits the road to take on Arkansas (8-14, 1-6 SEC) on Monday at 7 p.m.
Contact Amanda Roman at aroman@alligator.org. Follow her on X @mandy_romannn
Amanda Roman is a sophomore sports journalism major and the Spring 2025 women's basketball reporter. This is her second semester at the sports desk for The Alligator, and she previously interned for Fort Lauderdale United FC. In her free time, she enjoys lifting, shopping and reading.
