Dawn Staley Commends South Carolina’s Rebounding and Defense Against Mikayla Blakes in Dominant Win Over Vanderbilt

South Carolina Dominates Vanderbilt in 82-54 Victory

The South Carolina women’s basketball team asserted their dominance around the basket, securing an impressive 82-54 victory against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday.

The No. 6 Gamecocks (25-3, 13-1) came out strong, finishing the opening 10 minutes with a commanding 13-point lead. Their aggressive defense forced five turnovers, while their offensive hustle resulted in five offensive rebounds.

The intensity mirrored their performance against Florida on February 13, when the Gamecocks started strong offensively—a characteristic that was missing in recent games against Texas, UConn, and, to some extent, Arkansas.

Rebounding was key to South Carolina’s success, both offensively and defensively. By halftime, Coach Dawn Staley’s squad had already secured 14 offensive rebounds and 31 total boards. They finished with 47 rebounds to Vanderbilt’s 35 and earned 17 second-chance points. Staley’s team showcased an impressive ability to capitalize on their missed shots.

After Vanderbilt (19-9, 6-8) trimmed South Carolina’s 10-point halftime lead to six, the Gamecocks responded with a game-changing 11-1 run, shifting the momentum in their favor.

“We really didn’t make any adjustments. I think what we did was make layups,” said Staley. “We made layups. I thought we rebounded the ball, just really gave multiple efforts when it came to rebounding and defending.”

Known for their fast-break offense, the Gamecocks capitalized on every defensive rebound, looking to push the pace and successfully scoring 19 points in transition.

Vanderbilt’s freshman star, Mikayla Blakes, entered the game averaging 23.4 points per game and had posted two 50-point games and five 30-point games this season. However, South Carolina’s defense held Blakes to just 19 points on 5-of-15 shooting, and she was also plagued by four fouls and three turnovers.

“She’s special,” Staley remarked about Blakes. “We tried to make her as inefficient as possible. Yes, she’s going to score points, but we wanted to make it difficult for her to score those points. I thought we did a pretty good job. I thought we made her defend, and that’s part of the process when someone is capable of scoring a lot of points, they can’t relax on defense. You have to make them guard, and I thought we did a good job of that.”

The Gamecocks completely shut down Vanderbilt’s fast-break opportunities, not allowing a single fast-break point, and forced 17 turnovers, converting them into 23 points.

“This league will eat you up if you turn the ball over,” Staley noted, acknowledging some of her team’s own miscues with 13 total turnovers. “I thought we did a good job not giving easy buckets.”

South Carolina’s relentless play on both ends of the floor propelled them to a decisive victory over the Commodores.