No. 8 Vanderbilt Scores a Record 73 in the First Half and Routs Queens 100-42 as Mikayla Blakes Scores 24

NASHVILLE, Tenn. The scoreboard at Memorial Gymnasium read 73-11 at halftime on Wednesday night, Nov. 4, and that is not a typo. No. 8 Vanderbilt scored more points in the first 20 minutes against Queens than it had ever scored in any half in program history, then coasted the rest of the way to a 100-42 win.

Mikayla Blakes scored 22 of her game-high 24 points before the break, Mia Woolfolk added 16 on 7 of 9 shooting, and Olivia Jones scored a career-high 15. The Commodores forced 36 turnovers, piled up 23 steals and turned the giveaways into 55 points.

Vanderbilt moved to 2-0 and Queens fell to 0-2. Here is the box score (opens in a new tab) and Vanderbilt's recap (opens in a new tab).

A 34-0 run and a record half

Woolfolk scored the first six points of the game, Jones scored the next five, and Vanderbilt was off. The defining stretch came across the end of the first quarter and the start of the second, when the Commodores scored 34 straight points. It was the longest scoring run of Shea Ralph's tenure as head coach, according to Vanderbilt.

By halftime the numbers bordered on absurd. The 73 first-half points broke the program record for any half. The 62-point halftime lead was the largest Vanderbilt has ever held at the end of a half. According to the school, the 73 points were also the second-most by any SEC team in a half this century, and the 11 points Queens managed before the break were the seventh-lowest first-half total by a Vanderbilt opponent over that span.

Blakes, Galvan, Jones, Woolfolk and Aiyana Mitchell all reached double figures in the first half alone, according to the Associated Press. Mitchell did all of her scoring in that stretch, putting up 10 points in 10 minutes off the bench.

Blakes keeps the streak alive

Blakes did not need long. The junior, a preseason All-American, scored 24 points on 9 of 17 shooting with four 3s in only 23 minutes, and she added five rebounds, three assists and three steals. With 22 of those points coming in the first half, she spent most of the second half watching from the bench.

The 24 points extended Blakes' streak of 20-point games to 17, the longest active run in Division I, according to Vanderbilt. Her streak of double-figure scoring games reached 55, the longest by a Commodore this century.

What stands out is how little Vanderbilt needed from her after the break. On a night when four other Commodores reached double figures, Blakes could take a seat with the game decided by halftime, a luxury that will not exist once SEC play arrives.

Jones, Woolfolk and a defense that never let up

Jones was the breakout story. She made 5 of 7 shots, 2 of 4 from 3 and 3 of 5 at the free throw line for 15 points, the first double-figure game of her career. She also had four steals and four rebounds in 22 minutes, a two-way line that should earn more minutes as the season goes on.

Woolfolk was the most efficient scorer on the floor. She made 7 of 9 shots for 16 points in 18 minutes and added two steals, pushing her streak of double-figure games to 15. Aubrey Galvan, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year according to the AP, added 13 points on 4 of 7 shooting with a game-high six assists in 21 minutes, and her double-figure streak reached six games.

Vernell Atamah did the dirty work, playing a team-high 29 minutes and finishing with eight points, three assists, three steals and two blocks. The one rough line belonged to Madison Greene, who went 0 for 5 from 3 and had six turnovers in 26 minutes, a reminder that this group still has things to clean up even on its best nights.

The turnover numbers are almost hard to believe. Queens gave the ball away 36 times against six assists. Vanderbilt's 23 steals were its most in a game since Dec. 28, 2025, and the 55-18 edge in points off turnovers essentially decided the game on its own.

Jones led the theft parade with four steals, and Galvan, Blakes, Atamah and Saniyah Glenn-Bello had three apiece. The Commodores shot 55.7 percent from the floor, 39 of 70, made 10 of 25 from 3, and assisted on 25 of their 39 baskets. Their 12 of 22 night at the free throw line was the only shooting number that looked ordinary.

All 12 Commodores who played scored, the second straight game everyone on the roster got in the scoring column. Sther Ubaka, Jhai Johnson, Monique Williams, Trinity Wilson and Glenn-Bello each scored two.

The second half was for the reserves

With the outcome settled at the break, the second half turned into an extended look at the back of the rotation, and the results were mixed. Vanderbilt scored only 27 points after halftime and the offense lost a lot of its rhythm once the starters sat.

Greene logged 26 minutes, second-most on the team, and finished with four points on 2 of 7 shooting. Trinity Wilson played 12 minutes and scored two points with three turnovers. Jhai Johnson had two points, two assists, two steals and a block in 16 minutes, and Glenn-Bello chipped in two points, two assists and three steals in 11 minutes.

None of that changes the verdict on the night, but it does show where the depth chart sits early. The top five can overwhelm almost anyone. The minutes behind them are still being sorted out, and that is the part of this roster worth watching as the schedule stiffens.

A tough night for Queens

The Royals did play the Commodores even after halftime, outscoring Vanderbilt 31-27 with a 12-point third quarter and a 19-point fourth, but by then the bench had emptied and the result was long settled. Ashantay Noble led Queens with eight points and five rebounds. Makayla Minshall scored six on 3 of 10 shooting, Breah Franks scored six on 3 of 4 in 10 minutes off the bench, and Ahmani Klabunde hit both of the team's 3-pointers but also committed six turnovers. Nykira Arrington added four points, three steals and two blocks.

Queens shot 17 of 50 from the floor and 2 of 11 from 3, and went a perfect 6 of 6 at the line. The problem was that it rarely got a shot off at all.

There was a personal connection on the other bench, too. "It was great to see Jen Brown, who was one of my first players I coached at Pittsburgh," Ralph said. "She's doing a great job there. I'm glad that we were able to play them today."

What it means for Vanderbilt

Two games into the season, Vanderbilt has beaten Lipscomb 112-53 in its opener and Queens 100-42. It is the first time since the 1994-95 season that the program has scored 100 points in back-to-back games, and the first time since December 2025 that it has won consecutive games by 50 or more.

The home and nonconference streaks keep growing too. Vanderbilt has won 21 straight games at Memorial Gym dating to 2024-25, its longest home winning streak this century, and 22 straight nonconference games. Ralph's teams are 66-21 at home, and 41-9 since 2023-24.

Ralph kept the postgame message simple. "It was a win, and we are looking forward to an off day tomorrow and getting back to work," Ralph said.

Vanderbilt hosts Morehead State on Monday, Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network Plus. Queens returns home Monday to host Carolina University.

Sources: ESPN box score, Vanderbilt Athletics recap, Associated Press.

Photo: Vanderbilt Athletics.