AUBURN, Ala. — Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes set a freshman record for NCAA Division I women’s basketball when she scored 55 points Sunday in the Commodores’ 98-88 overtime victory at Auburn.
Blakes, a 5-foot-8 guard who has averaged 21.8 points per game this season, shot 15-for-28 from the field with two 3-pointers and made 23 of 24 free throws. She broke the record set by Elena Delle Donne, who scored 54 points as a redshirt freshman at Delaware in a loss to James Madison on Feb. 18, 2010.
Blakes also scored 53 points on Jan. 30 in a 99-86 victory at Florida.
“I want to say that while it was another amazing performance from Mikayla, she wouldn’t have been able to do that if some other players didn’t step up,” Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph said.
“I thought Leilani Kapinus was amazing today. Aiyana Mitchell came in and got some big rebounds. Madison Greene, Jordyn Oliver and Khamil Pierre all were outstanding. There are lots of ways that we are growing. I’m proud of the resiliency that our team showed today, and I’m excited for them to celebrate a huge win on the road.”
Vanderbilt improved to 19-7 overall and evened its Southeastern Conference record at 6-6. The Commodores are tied for eighth in the league standings with 15th-ranked Tennessee (19-6, 6-6), and Vanderbilt holds the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating the Lady Volunteers 71-70 on Jan. 19 in Nashville.
Auburn (12-14, 3-10) is 12th in the 16-team league with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Ayoka Lee of Kansas State holds the NCAA D-I women’s record for points in a game with 61, set in 2022.
Blakes scored her 55th point from the foul line with 17 seconds left in overtime. She then missed her next free throw, the only miss in 24 attempts. She scored 11 of her points in overtime as Vanderbilt and finished with a stat line that included five assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Blakes sent the game to overtime, hitting all three free throws after being fouled with less than a second left in regulation. She scored 16 points in the first half and 28 in the second.