Latest news with #SheaRalph
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Forward Khamil Pierre no longer member of Vanderbilt women's basketball team
Khamil Pierre is no longer a member of the Vanderbilt women's team, it was announced. The rising junior averaged 20.4 points and 9.6 rebounds this past season. The forward was the team's second-leading scorer. Advertisement Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph put out a statement on June 30. "Khamil is a great player and I have no doubt she will have success in the future," Ralph stated. "Ultimately, it was determined it would be best for Khamil and our program to go in different directions. We wish her the best of luck." Pierre started and played in 32 games this past season and helped lead the Commodores to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. She recorded a career-high 42 points against Evansville on Dec. 14, 2024. In the 2023-24 season, she was a five-time SEC Freshman of the Week and named to the SEC All-Freshmen Team. Advertisement Alaina Morris is the summer sports intern for The Tennessean. Contact her at amorris@ or on X @alainammorris. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Forward Khamil Pierre no longer on Vanderbilt women's basketball team
Axios
17-03-2025
- Sport
- Axios
Tennessee boasts seven teams in March Madness
The state of Tennessee will be well-represented in March Madness this year. Driving the news: Four in-state men's teams and three women's teams qualified for the NCAA tournament. The big picture: The University of Tennessee men's team seems to have the best chance of reaching the Final Four. The Volunteers earned the No. 2 seed in the Midwest regional bracket. Under coach Rick Barnes, UT has now made the NCAA tournament seven times. Why it matters: The program has never reached the Final Four. UT came painfully close last season, falling to Purdue 72-66 in the Elite Eight. Here's a look at the other Tennessee programs to watch in March Madness Lipscomb men: The Bisons are an underdog to watch, led by high-scoring forward Jacob Ognacevic. Lipscomb will be playing in the NCAA tourney for the second time ever, and for the first time since 2017. Vanderbilt men: Coach Mark Byington turned around the Commodores program. Vandy won just nine games a season ago and will play in March Madness for the first time since 2017. Memphis men: Coach Penny Hardaway's squad had an excellent regular season, winning the American Athletic Conference title for the first time ever. Tennessee women: The Lady Vols won 22 games under new coach Kim Caldwell. The iconic program has won the NCAA tournament eight times. Vanderbilt women: Shea Ralph has the Commodores back in the tournament for the second time in three seasons. Vandy beat rival Tennessee twice this season. The Athletic dubbed the team"one to watch," saying it "could bust some brackets. "Shea Ralph and her staff have done a terrific job there in a state that has long been dominated by the Vols." Tennessee Tech women: If you're looking for a Cinderella team to get behind, the Golden Eagles are a good pick. All five starters average double figures.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Can Vanderbilt reach Sweet 16 in Women's March Madness? Predictions for why and why not
Vanderbilt women's basketball will be playing in March Madness again. But instead of the First Four like last year, the Commodores are a No. 7 seed. In Durham, North Carolina, Vanderbilt (22-10) will open up against No. 10 seed Oregon (19-11) on Friday (4:30 p.m. CT, ESPNews). The winner would face No. 2 seed seed Duke or No. 15 Lehigh. Shea Ralph has plenty of postseason experience from her days as a player and assistant at UConn. Now, in her fourth season with the Commodores, she has her best team yet. Here's why Vanderbilt can − and can't − make it to the Sweet 16: Buy Vanderbilt NCAA tournament tickets Here are two reasons Vanderbilt women's basketball can make the Sweet 16: Vanderbilt got a favorable draw. The Commodores will have to contend with Oregon's 6-foot-8 center Phillipina Kyei, but Vanderbilt has the vastly better guard play in this matchup and that often matters in March. The Commodores also drew a favorable 2-seed in Duke. The Blue Devils don't have a ton of size and have similar strengths to Vanderbilt. Tennessee is another team that fits that profile, and Vanderbilt beat the Lady Vols twice. Mikayla Blakes is a cheat code. What other team in the country has a player who's scored 50 points in a game this season ... twice? There isn't one. Even USC's Juju Watkins hasn't managed the feat of Blakes, who seems built for March. But Vanderbilt isn't just reliant on Blakes, as Khamil Pierre also averages over 20 points per game. Here are two reasons Vanderbilt women's basketball can't make the Sweet 16: Vanderbilt just isn't good enough on the interior: With Sacha Washington out for the season, the Commodores have only one true post player who sees significant minutes: Aiyana Mitchell, who comes off the bench. Mitchell is a good defensive player but she isn't a big offensive threat. Although post play isn't the strength of the other teams in this region, Vanderbilt may just be too undersized to advance. Vanderbilt is too reliant on a few players. Blakes and Pierre are the focal point of every defense. Iyana Moore has come on at the end of the season, too, and she was the Commodores' best player last year. But Vanderbilt doesn't have another scoring threat outside those three. Moore averages 12.6 points per game; the next-best player, Madison Greene, averages seven. After her, no one else averages even five points per game. PREDICTION Vanderbilt basketball vs Oregon prediction: Who has edge in 2025 NCAA Tournament opener? The Commodores get past Oregon in their opening-round game and play a close game against Duke in the second round but ultimately fall short of their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2009. Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@ or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson. We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn't influence our coverage. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt women's basketball March Madness bracket predictions for 2025
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Why Vanderbilt's Shea Ralph wants to play UConn after Tennessee Lady Vols upset
On Thursday, the Tennessee Lady Vols beat UConn women's basketball for the first time since 2007 in a revival of an old rivalry dating back to the Pat Summitt days. Could another rivalry spark up on the other side of the state? Vanderbilt women's basketball coach Shea Ralph said she would be open to playing Connecticut, her former school, after the Commodores' 87-66 loss to Texas. "Of course, that's how you got to win championships, right?" said Ralph of playing her former school and where she was a longtime assistant. "I want to play them all. So yes, I would love to." Ralph played and coached against Tennessee, and her mother was close to Summitt dating back to their days playing together in the World University Games. Ralph's mother could have been on the 1976 Olympic team with Summitt as well, but she was pregnant with Ralph. Because of that connection, many assumed that Ralph would play for the Lady Vols. Ralph instead chose UConn and played there for five years. She became an assistant there in 2008 and worked there for 13 years before taking the Commodores job. But she got to coach just two games in the Tennessee-UConn series, in 2020 and 2021, as the rivalry was on hiatus between 2008-20. In January, Ralph got her first win over Tennessee as Vanderbilt's coach. The Commodores won, 71-70, at Memorial Gymnasium. Vanderbilt has played UConn eight times, most recently in 2019, but never with Ralph at the helm. That meeting could even come sooner than anticipated. UConn is expected to host NCAA tournament games this year, projected as a No. 2 seed in the most recent bracketology while Vanderbilt was projected a No. 6 seed. But if either the Huskies or Commodores moved down a seed line, the two teams could face off in Storrs come March. VANDERBILT VS TEXAS GAME Vanderbilt women's basketball falls to Texas as Khamil Pierre scores 26 Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@ or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt women's basketball open to playing UConn
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes drops 53 points to break JuJu Watkins' NCAA freshman scoring record
In at least two sections of the record book, Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes stands alone. The freshman guard broke both the NCAA single-game scoring record for freshmen and the SEC single-game scoring record regardless of class on Thursday, posting 53 points in the No. 23 Commodores' 99-86. road win over Florida. In the case of the freshman record, Blakes surpassed an 11-month-old record held by USC star JuJu Watkins. She shot 16-of-24 from the field, 5-of-9 from 3-point range and 16-of-18 from the free throw line, along with three rebounds, two assists and three steals. One of those shots was of the circus variety. Mikayla Blakes is cooking up some magic in Gainesville 🪄#AnchorDown — no. 23 Vanderbilt WBB (@VandyWBB) January 31, 2025 Vanderbilt naturally had to go with the Wilt Chamberlain celebration after the game: — no. 23 Vanderbilt WBB (@VandyWBB) January 31, 2025 The performance also broke the Vanderbilt the scoring record, which was set when her teammate Khamil Pierre scored 42 on Dec. 16. Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph, a former UConn assistant, had high praise after the game, via the Nashville Tennesseean: "Mikayla had one of the most incredible performances that I've ever seen as a coach," Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph said. "And I've coached a lot of really good players for a long time, and that's not taking anything away from them. I think you see a player like her do what she did tonight. Sometimes she makes things that are really, really hard to do look really easy." Blakes' record-setting game was the 22nd of her college career, which she began at Vanderbilt after being ranked by ESPN as the No. 8 recruit in the country. She has so far lived up the hype. She entered Thursday averaging 21.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.4 steals per game for Vanderbilt, which holds a 17-4 record after going 23-10 last season and 12-19 the year before.
