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GREENSVILLE, S.C. — Not a lot went well for No. 5 Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament on Friday.
The Commodores opened the postseason with a stunning 89-78 loss to No. 24 Ole Miss that almost surely dropped them out of contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
After finishing second in the loaded SEC with the league’s Coach, Player and Freshman of the Year, they’re one-and-done in the tournament. And they finished the game without head coach Shea Ralph, who was ejected early in the fourth quarter for arguing a fourth foul call on Makayla Blakes. It was the first ejection in her career.
Ralph, typically a calm presence, charged off her bench all the way out to the middle of the court to argue a call on Blakes in the corner less than 30 seconds into the fourth. Blakes was chasing down a loose ball in the corner and was held off by an Ole Miss player. Vanderbilt trailed, 65-43, but was putting the pressure on in the beginning of a comeback.
“How is that a f****** foul,” Ralph yelled in audio caught on the broadcast. “…. You suck. You suck a**.”
The fifth-year head coach gathered her group before walking toward the exit, then turned around to shake hands or give encouragement to every player on her bench before walking through the tunnel with security. She said after the game she wasn’t trying to get kicked out as any type of jolt to energize her group.
“I also think at the time what I said was warranted, and the action that I took was warranted, and I’ll stand behind that,” Ralph said. “You want to kick me out for it, then they can kick me out.
“What I do love is the fight that my team showed. There’s only so many ways you can say something over and over again. So I said it differently, and I got kicked out, which is fine.”
Attempting to avoid a fine, Ralph declined to go deeper into what she meant when she said it was warranted. A pool report for perspective from the referee was not available.
“As coaches, we just want consistency from our team, from our staff, from everybody that's involved in the game of basketball, just consistency,” Ralph said. “That's it. It's all I'm looking for. And respect.”
In the NCAA women’s basketball committee’s two top-16 reveals, the top three of UConn, UCLA and South Carolina remained the same. But the fourth No. 1 seed is up for grabs and changed hands between Vanderbilt in the first reveal and Texas in the second. They were on a collision course for the SEC semifinals on Saturday, with the winner likely securing the final No. 1 seed.
The committee has valued recent results and head-to-head in their reveals. With Vanderbilt taking an early exit — and largely uncompetitive in the loss — it now leans heavily toward Texas, which has the overall better résumé. The SEC seed lines matter since the top four teams from a conference need to be bracketed in separate regionals. Vanderbilt would shift over to UCLA’s regional even if it were the No. 5 true seed.
Vanderbilt’s long night began early at Bons Secour Wellness Arena. Blakes missed all eight of her shot attempts, including four 3-point shots, and the team went 1-of-16 to start the game. Not even easy layups were going, and a few free throws rimmed out. Ole Miss took a 23-5 lead, using an 11-0 boost from points off of turnovers.
Blakes collected a pivotal third foul at the 4:35 mark of the second with Vanderbilt trailing 35-12 and had to sit the rest of the half. By the break, the seventh-seeded Rebels built a 49-17 cushion, and Vanderbilt was 17% from the floor.
Ole Miss is playing for a top-16 seed and the right to host first- and second-round NCAA tournament games. The Rebels were in the committee’s initial reveal last month, but fell off. They’ll face the winner of No. 11 Alabama and No. 3 Texas on Saturday (7 p.m. ET). The earlier semifinal is No. 1 South Carolina and No. 4 LSU.
The Commodores cut what was a 32-point deficit at the 8:12 mark of the third to 11 with three minutes to play. Blakes, a contender for Naismith Player of the Year, ended with 24 points on 8-of-27 field goals, including shooting 5-of-14 from the perimeter. She had one point, missing all 10 of her field goals at the half.
“I also thought she was being fouled. She was being held, and there’s only so many ways you can respond to that,” Ralph said.
Aubrey Galvan, a leading candidate for Naismith Freshman of the Year, scored 18 with 4 assists and 4 rebounds. She also had only one point in the first half.
Cotie McMahon (27 points) and Latasha Lattimore (28) paced Ole Miss. The Rebels shot better than 70% in the first quarter, and nearly 60% at the half. Ole Miss defeated Vanderbilt, 83-75, on Jan. 30.
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The Commodores opened the postseason with a stunning 89-78 loss to No. 24 Ole Miss that almost surely dropped them out of contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
After finishing second in the loaded SEC with the league’s Coach, Player and Freshman of the Year, they’re one-and-done in the tournament. And they finished the game without head coach Shea Ralph, who was ejected early in the fourth quarter for arguing a fourth foul call on Makayla Blakes. It was the first ejection in her career.
Ralph, typically a calm presence, charged off her bench all the way out to the middle of the court to argue a call on Blakes in the corner less than 30 seconds into the fourth. Blakes was chasing down a loose ball in the corner and was held off by an Ole Miss player. Vanderbilt trailed, 65-43, but was putting the pressure on in the beginning of a comeback.
“How is that a f****** foul,” Ralph yelled in audio caught on the broadcast. “…. You suck. You suck a**.”
The fifth-year head coach gathered her group before walking toward the exit, then turned around to shake hands or give encouragement to every player on her bench before walking through the tunnel with security. She said after the game she wasn’t trying to get kicked out as any type of jolt to energize her group.
“I also think at the time what I said was warranted, and the action that I took was warranted, and I’ll stand behind that,” Ralph said. “You want to kick me out for it, then they can kick me out.
“What I do love is the fight that my team showed. There’s only so many ways you can say something over and over again. So I said it differently, and I got kicked out, which is fine.”
Attempting to avoid a fine, Ralph declined to go deeper into what she meant when she said it was warranted. A pool report for perspective from the referee was not available.
“As coaches, we just want consistency from our team, from our staff, from everybody that's involved in the game of basketball, just consistency,” Ralph said. “That's it. It's all I'm looking for. And respect.”
In the NCAA women’s basketball committee’s two top-16 reveals, the top three of UConn, UCLA and South Carolina remained the same. But the fourth No. 1 seed is up for grabs and changed hands between Vanderbilt in the first reveal and Texas in the second. They were on a collision course for the SEC semifinals on Saturday, with the winner likely securing the final No. 1 seed.
The committee has valued recent results and head-to-head in their reveals. With Vanderbilt taking an early exit — and largely uncompetitive in the loss — it now leans heavily toward Texas, which has the overall better résumé. The SEC seed lines matter since the top four teams from a conference need to be bracketed in separate regionals. Vanderbilt would shift over to UCLA’s regional even if it were the No. 5 true seed.
Vanderbilt’s long night began early at Bons Secour Wellness Arena. Blakes missed all eight of her shot attempts, including four 3-point shots, and the team went 1-of-16 to start the game. Not even easy layups were going, and a few free throws rimmed out. Ole Miss took a 23-5 lead, using an 11-0 boost from points off of turnovers.
Blakes collected a pivotal third foul at the 4:35 mark of the second with Vanderbilt trailing 35-12 and had to sit the rest of the half. By the break, the seventh-seeded Rebels built a 49-17 cushion, and Vanderbilt was 17% from the floor.
Ole Miss is playing for a top-16 seed and the right to host first- and second-round NCAA tournament games. The Rebels were in the committee’s initial reveal last month, but fell off. They’ll face the winner of No. 11 Alabama and No. 3 Texas on Saturday (7 p.m. ET). The earlier semifinal is No. 1 South Carolina and No. 4 LSU.
The Commodores cut what was a 32-point deficit at the 8:12 mark of the third to 11 with three minutes to play. Blakes, a contender for Naismith Player of the Year, ended with 24 points on 8-of-27 field goals, including shooting 5-of-14 from the perimeter. She had one point, missing all 10 of her field goals at the half.
“I also thought she was being fouled. She was being held, and there’s only so many ways you can respond to that,” Ralph said.
Aubrey Galvan, a leading candidate for Naismith Freshman of the Year, scored 18 with 4 assists and 4 rebounds. She also had only one point in the first half.
Cotie McMahon (27 points) and Latasha Lattimore (28) paced Ole Miss. The Rebels shot better than 70% in the first quarter, and nearly 60% at the half. Ole Miss defeated Vanderbilt, 83-75, on Jan. 30.
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