Vanderbilt put another dominant victory in the books on Friday night in Memorial Gym, as the Commodores defeated Austin Peay 93-37 in a game that saw many different names make an impact.
Similarly to the Commodores' 102-50 win against Lipscomb on Monday, things looked relatively close during the first quarter. Vanderbilt held a 24-16 lead behind 9/12 shooting from the free-throw line.
Things looked a bit shaky at points for the Commodores at the time, as Austin Peay was able to find success inside and Vanderbilt committed six turnovers that afforded the Governors some opportunities. In the second quarter, however, the Commodores would begin to take over.
Iyana Moore and Mikayla Blakes combined for 18 points during the second quarter with nine each; neither of them missing a single shot. The Commodores also cleaned up some of the opening quarter deficiencies only committed a single turnover during the second quarter while forcing eight from Austin Peay, giving Vanderbilt a 52-26 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, Vanderbilt began to truly run away with this game, finding themselves with multiple big scoring runs that Austin Peay simply couldn't answer. The Commodores not only outscored the Governors 26-4 in the third quarter, but they also held Austin Peay to a lowly 1/14 from the field. Aga Makurat and Khamil Pierre led what was a balanced scoring attack for the Commodores in this quarter, knocking down two threes for 6 points and Pierre tallying 5 points to go along with her 4 rebounds.
Holding a 78-30 lead to begin the fourth quarter, we saw Shea Ralph rely on her bench to finish things off, as Vanderbilt's starters only played a combined 10 minutes in the fourth quarter. The Commodores outscored the Governors 15-7 to finish the night off, solidifying what was a dominant second win for Vanderbilt on the season. Vanderbilt held Austin Peay to just 11 points and 4/26 shooting during the second half.
Mikayla Blakes and Iyana Moore lead all scorers with 16 points. Khamil Pierre notched her second-straight double-double, tallying 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Madison Green also made a significant impact off the bench, scoring 13 points and leading all Vanderbilt players with 30 minutes played.
Leilani Kapinus also saw her first action in a Vanderbilt uniform in this one, as the Penn State transfer missed the Commodores' season opener vs Lipscomb due to injury. Kapinus was busy in her debut, playing 21 minutes and nothing 7 points and 6 rebounds off the bench while also being a noticeable difference maker for the team defensively.
With five days to now rest and prepare, the Commodores will get set for their first road test of the year against South Florida on Nov. 14.