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Blakes scores 20, No. 5 Vanderbilt moves to 20-0 in win over Auburn

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Mikayla Blakes scored 20 points for her 15th 20-plus point performance of the season as No. 5 Vanderbilt remained undefeated with an 81-53 win over Auburn on Thursday night.

The Commodores (20-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) are one of five NCAA Division I basketball teams still undefeated, alongside the No. 1 UConn women, the No. 1 Arizona men, the No. 7 Nebraska men, and the No. 25 Miami (Ohio) men.

Sacha Washington had 18 points and 12 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season.

Vanderbilt went on an 8-0 run in the first quarter and shot 52.6% (10 of 19) from the floor to build a 23-12 lead after the first quarter.

It was the complete opposite in the second quarter as the Commodores went scoreless in the first four minutes. Vanderbilt shot 26.7% (4 of 15) from the field and was 0 of 4 from 3-point range, but its 10 points scored were enough to hold onto a 33-29 lead at halftime.

Vanderbilt’s Aiyana Mitchell and Auburn’s A’riel Jackson led all scorers with eight points each in the first half.

After giving up the first two points of the second half, Vanderbilt outscored Auburn 27-12 in the third quarter, highlighted by 12 points from Blakes. Vanderbilt also had 15 rebounds in the quarter.

Vanderbilt finished the game shooting 32 of 64 from the floor, but 6 of 20 from 3-point range. The Commodores dominated the Tigers on the boards, outrebounding them, 44-25.

Auburn (13-7, 2-4) was led by Harissoum Coulibaly, who finished with 13 points, and Kaitlyn Duhon with 11.

Up next:

Auburn: Hosts No. 16 Oklahoma on Sunday

Vanderbilt: At No. 2 South Carolina 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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