Vanderbilt improves to 4-0 after handling Butler, who came into Memorial undefeated.

The Commodores downed the Bulldogs, 81-52.

Mikayla Blakes led the way, recording a new career-high of 29 points.

Vanderbilt stumped Butler early on and did not allow it to come back. The Commodores allowed just 20 points in the first half.

The struggles for Butler continued, finishing the afternoon shooting 38% from the field. Vanderbilt forced 31 turnovers, which resulted in 41 points.

Three quick takeaways

The duo that is Blakes and Pierre

The young pair continues to preform at a high level. In the first half, Khamil Pierre and Mikayla Blakes combined for 26 of Vanderbilt's 37 points.

The two ended the game with a combined 53 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals.

"Khamil and Mikayla are Khamil and Mikayla. I am not surprised by the things they do everyday because I see it in practice," Ralph stated. "A special performance from Mikayla again. Offensively she's special, but I don't everybody understands how important and hard what her and [Madison Greene] do on defense is."

Blakes recorded a new career-high of 29 points.

Defense to offense

Vanderbilt's defense made things very challenging for Butler. On Thursday against South Florida, it played solid defense but it didn't translate, today, it did.

"We are going to have days, especially early in the season where our offense looks a little wonky, but if we can play defense like that, then we always give ourselves a chance."

The Commodores forced 30 turnovers, 17 of which were steals. Those turnovers turned into 41 of Vanderbilt's points.

The improvement of Aiayna Mitchell

The 6-foot-4 sophomore has made quite the leap from last season. From averaging just three minutes a game, Mitchell is beginning to make her presence known.

"She's getting better and better. She is also getting more confident. You can see that she provides a true post presence," said Ralph. "She's big and physical, very athletic. She's also getting more comfortable posting up with her back to the basket. I thought today she made a couple of really good post moves."

Mitchell finished the afternoon having played a career-high 19 minutes. In that time, the forward recorded six points and five rebounds.