Three quick takes from Vanderbilt's 94-45 win over Hampton

Vanderbilt, who was favored heavily coming into this game, struggled out of the game, holding just a two point lead at the end of the first quarter against a Hampton team that is coming off of a three win season.

After this however, the Commodores looked like the team that we expected to see coming in, outscoring the Lady Pirates 28-7 in the second quarter and not looking back since.

Vanderbilt saw four players in Mikayla Blakes (22pts), Khamil Pierre, (15pts), Iyana Moore (12pts) and Madison Greene (11pts) score double-digit points to charge the Commodores to a 49 point victory, moving the Commodores to a 5-0 record on the season.

Takeaways:

Vanderbilt overcame some adversity early

This game didn't start out easy for the Commodores. In fact, Hampton gave the everything they could handle during the first 10 minutes. Vanderbilt shot the ball reasonably well, going exactly 50% from the field but only going 1 for 6 from three. Meanwhile, Hampton shot the ball at a 60% clip, including 2 for 3 from beyond the arc.

The response in the second quarter was exactly what you would've hoped to see from a Commodores team that hasn't been tested very often to start the year, as Vanderbilt put together a 28-7 in the second quarter that carried over into the second half.

"These games, even though I hate them as a coach, where you kind of see the best of your team at times and certainly in the first quarter the worst; I think they're good for us," said Commodores head coach Shea Ralph.

"It sometimes takes those moment for the players to understand how to prepare, how to communicate on the court, how to step up and help each other. That's the beauty of basketball because its a team game. It's also the beauty of preparation."

It's not always going to be easy for teams to win games and Vanderbilt is no different. Hampton may have tested the Commodores early, but Shea Ralph's team passed it with flying colors.

Mikayla Blakes may already be one of the best pure scorers in the SEC

In case you weren't already aware, Mikayla Blakes has arrived. The five-star freshman came into tonight averaging 21.0 points per game and coming off of a season-high 29-point performance vs Butler three days ago.

Tonight, Blakes continued her impressive offensive form, putting up 22 points on 9 for 14 shooting in 29 minutes. She also showed off her ability to set up her teammates, as she racked up a season-high eight assists as well. Her highest in a game prior to that was in the season-opener against Lipscomb, where she had five. If that wasn't enough to convince you, she was also a +47 when on the floor.

Head coach Shea Ralph raved about Blakes and who she is as a player after the game. "Is she skilled? Yes, very. Is she talented? Yes, very. She's very athletic, very quick, but she is a dawg," Ralph said. "She is fearless, she's a competitor and the way she plays every day is the way she practices."

It's understandable to not want to get ahead of yourself when it comes to a young player, especially just five games into their college career, but Mikayla Blakes just looks to be different. If she can continue to produce at this level, she could very well be seen as one of the best bucket-getters in the SEC and tonight was a shining example of that.

Vanderbilt continues to wreck havoc on defense

Coming into Wednesday, Vanderbilt looked like one of the nation's best defenses statistically. Through its first five games, the Commodores allowed just 47 points per game (ranked 10th nationally and forced 25.3 turnovers per game (ranked 20th nationally).

Though it didn't show as much in the first quarter, Vanderbilt continued to flex their defensive strength in its win tonight. After allowing 21 points in the first quarter alone, Vanderbilt allowed just 24 points in the final three quarters combined. The Commodores also forced the Lady Pirates into 24 turnovers and allowed Hampton to take 21 fewer shot attempts than them.

So what changed? According to Coach Ralph, the answer wasn't about schemes, plays or lineup changes, it was all about the mental aspects of the game.

"Focus, discipline, purpose; I felt like we looked lethargic. And I dont think it's that we were lethargic, I think we just looked it" Ralph said. "We weren't communicating, it felt like we were a step slow to everything; I don't think that that has anything to do with how we were physically prepared, I think that it was all mental [to me], because it changed like that."

Vanderbilt will now get ready to take on the Samford Bulldogs (2-4) at Memorial Gym on Friday, with tip-off being set for 6:30pm CT.