Vanderbilt’s perfect season ended Sunday in Columbia, but the loss did little to overshadow what the Commodores built over the first three months of the year.
No. 5 Vanderbilt fell, 103–74, to No. 4 South Carolina, a program that rarely drops two games in a row and entered the afternoon determined to avoid its first back‑to‑back losses since the 2018–19 season.
The defeat snapped Vanderbilt’s 20–0 start, the best opening stretch in school history and one of the most surprising teams in women’s college basketball this season. The Commodores climbed to No. 5 in the AP poll, their highest ranking in more than two decades. They became the last undefeated team in the SEC and one of only two unbeaten teams left in Division I entering the weekend, along with UConn.
The run reshaped expectations for a program that had not reached this level since the early 2000s. Vanderbilt collected multiple Quad 1 victories, surged to a top‑10 NET ranking and won nine straight road and neutral‑site games. The Commodores also extended their SEC road success to 13–6 over the past two seasons, a dramatic shift from where the program stood before head coach Shea Ralph’s arrival.
Much of Vanderbilt’s surge came from its backcourt. Sophomore Mikayla Blakes emerged as one of the nation’s elite scorers, averaging more than 23 points per game and becoming the fastest SEC player in the NCAA era to reach 1,000 career points. Freshman guard Aubrey Galvan added immediate stability, earning multiple SEC Freshman of the Week honors. Senior Justine Pissott expanded her role beyond perimeter shooting, leading the team in blocks and contributing across the stat sheet. Senior Jada Brown provided consistent scoring off the bench, hitting a team‑best 19 3‑pointers as a reserve.
The Commodores’ undefeated start also placed them in rare SEC company. Only six programs in the conference have posted 20‑game winning streaks since 1999–2000, a list that includes South Carolina, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Auburn. Vanderbilt joined that group for the first time.
South Carolina entered the game coming off an overtime loss to Oklahoma. Commodores still hold the pieces to keep that momentum moving forward. Conference tournaments will be here before you know it, so it will be interesting to see how Vandy recovers from this big loss.
