It was a busy weekend for local college basketball teams as five in-state squads, including three from Nashville, took part in the NCAA men's and women's tournaments.
The No. 2-seed Vanderbilt women (28-4) took care of business against No. 15 High Point (27-6) at Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday to advance to the Round of 32. The Commodores will take on No. 7 Illinois (22-11) on Monday at 6 p.m. back in Memorial. The game will air on ESPN2.
Vanderbilt star Mikayla Blakes set the school's single-season scoring record during the win over High Point. The sophomore finished with 30 points on an efficient 11-16 shooting to reach 867 points on the year, breaking Wendy Scholten’s 36-season record of 855 points.
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"We came out and wanted to defend our home court and prove to everybody that we deserved the seed we had," Blakes told reporters after the game.
The SEC Player of the Year is now second on the conference's single-season scoring list and ninth on Vanderbilt's all-time scoring leaderboard with 1,636 career points. She added three rebounds and five assists.
Other Commodores to finish in double figures in the dominant win were Aubrey Galvan (17 points, team-high six assists), Ava Black (career-high 12 points), Sacha Washington (10 points, Vanderbilt tournament record 17 rebounds) and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda (10 points, 11 rebounds).
The No. 5-seed Vanderbilt men (27-9) followed up Thursday's 78-68 first-round win over McNeese State with an instant-classic thriller against No. 4 Nebraska (28-6). Cornhusker fans were out in full force in Oklahoma City, making for a raucous environment for the 'Dores.
Sophomore Tyler Tanner's half-court heave at the buzzer rimmed out as Vanderbilt came up just short of its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2007, falling 74-72.
"It hurts pretty bad, being that close, especially," Tanner told reporters after the game. "It hurts that the season is over."
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Tanner finished with a game-high 27 points to go along with two rebounds, four assists and a team-best four steals. Senior sharpshooter Tyler Nickel was the only other Commodore to finish in double-digits with 16 points, including a 5-12 mark from three-point range. Senior Duke Miles notched nine points and dished out a team-high six assists.
On Friday afternoon, No. 15-seed Tennessee State (23-10) saw its historic season come to an end with a 108-74 loss to No. 2 Iowa State (28-7) in St. Louis.
OVC Player of the Year Aaron Nkrumah led the Tigers with 21 points, six rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal. Antoine Lorick III compiled 20 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and one steal. Travis Harper II had 13 points, three assists and three steals, and Dante Harris added 11 points and a team-high four assists.
“I’m just extremely proud of my guys,” first-year head coach Nolan Smith told reporters after the game. “And I told them in the locker room that they’re legends. ... They’ll forever be remembered in Nashville and in the TSU community.”
Elsewhere in the state, the No. 10-seed Tennessee Lady Vols (16-14) ended what was a disappointing season with a 76-61 loss to No. 7 N.C. State (21-10) in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The No. 6-seed Tennessee men (24-11) easily dispatched No. 11 Miami-Ohio (32-2) 78-56 on Friday afternoon in Philadelphia before taking down No. 3 Virginia (30-6) on Sunday night 79-72.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
