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Blakes’ 17 points ease No. 13 Vanderbilt women past Albany

NASHVILLE (AP) — Mikayla Blakes extended her double-digit scoring streak to 30 games and finished with 17 points and six steals as No. 13 Vanderbilt pulled away from Albany for a 64-35 win on Thursday night.

Blakes’ streak, the fifth-longest active run in the nation, was secure before halftime, but she set the tone early in the fourth quarter by opening the period with a 24-foot 3-pointer that pushed Vanderbilt’s lead past 20. The Commodores allowed just four points in the final 10 minutes.

The Commodores (11-0) forced 21 turnovers, recorded 13 steals and nine blocks and limited Albany to 23% shooting.

Aubrey Galvan added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Monique Williams scored 14 off the bench on 6-of-9 shooting. Vanderbilt assisted on 15 of its 25 made field goals and outscored Albany 34-15 in the second half.

Vanderbilt used a 20-11 third quarter to stretch the margin, then opened the fourth with Blakes’ 3 and a layup by Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda to make it 55-33. Albany went more than five minutes without a field goal afterwards.

Delanie Hill led Albany with 15 points. The Great Danes were 11 of 48 from the field and missed 17 of their 21 attempts from 3-point range, struggling to generate clean looks against Vanderbilt’s length and ball pressure.

Up next

Vanderbilt faces Texas Southern at home on Saturday.

Albany returns home to face Hofstra on Sunday.

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Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
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