Blakes leads Vanderbilt to 1st Sweet 16 since 2009 with near triple-double in March Madness

“This is what I came here to do, and to continue to do it, not just stop here, but for the upcoming years as well to be able to compete for championships,” Blakes said. “I feel like this is a step in the right direction for this program.”

Blakes just missed the first triple-double of her career. She checked out with 2:12 left with 10 rebounds and nine assists along with four steals. Justine Pissott scored 18 points, making four 3-pointers. Aubrey Galvan added 12.

Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph said it might've been her fault that Blakes didn't get one more assist for the triple-double.

“She’s a really good basketball player, and I think right now the narrative is that she’s a great scorer," Ralph said. "She is that, but she’s also a great teammate. She also is a great playmaker. She’s a great defender. She’s a great passer. She’s a great decision maker. She’s fun to coach.”

Seventh-seeded Illinois (22-12) came in with the youngest team in this tournament after having to replace four starters. The Fighting Illini goes home still looking to end a Sweet 16 drought extending back to their last berth in 1998. Coach Shauna Green says the youth of this team gives lots of optimism moving forward.

"Let’s run this back,” Green said she told her team after the loss.

Berry Wallace led the Fighting Illini with 18 points, and Cearah Parchment and Jasmine Brown-Hagger each added 12.

These teams split the previous two games with this the first between the programs since November 1987. A lot has changed, especially for Vanderbilt.

Blakes is the nation's leading scorer averaging 27.1 points a game, and she set Vanderbilt's single-season scoring record in the first round. The AP All-American and Southeastern Conference player of the year missed her first three shots, so she stayed busy helping her teammates.

Parchment gave Illinois its only lead on the opening bucket before Vanderbilt took the lead for good with seven straight points. Parchment hit a jumper, and Aaliyah Guyton added a layup to pull the Fighting Illini within 7-6.

That was as close as Illinois would get as Vanderbilt finished the first quarter scoring the final nine points for a 21-8 lead. The Fighting Illini missed 11 consecutive shots and 13 of their final 15 in the quarter. Illinois outscored Vanderbilt 17-15 in the second quarter with Vanderbilt up 36-25 at halftime.

Illinois got within nine in the third on a bucket by Maddie Webber with 4:26 left. That's when Vanderbilt finished the quarter on a 14-4 run keyed by four straight 3s. Blakes hit a pair of those, assisted on the other two 3s and finished the spurt with a jumper as Vandy outscored Illinois 24-16 in the quarter for a 60-41 lead.

“When it was time for us to separate, did she miss any shots?” Ralph said. “No. She made the toughest ones. It was time for us to separate, the ball was in her hands.”

Perfect at home

Vanderbilt finished this season going undefeated at Memorial Gym in 18 games. The Commodores also improved to 16-2 in NCAA Tournament games on this court.

Anchor D

Illinois ranked 26th nationally shooting 45.7% from the floor this season, but Vanderbilt held the Fighting Illini to a season-low 29.6% (21 of 71). They also hit only 3 of 13 outside the arc (13%). Green said no defense is good enough to help win on someone else's court shooting that poorly.

“It’s just a bad time to not shoot it well,” Green said.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness