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We might be in the golden era of college women’s hoops right now. Even after the graduation of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, this season has been full of a ton of huge performances and superstar players that are going to shape women’s basketball for years to come, like Vanderbilt freshman Mikayla Blakes.
Blakes has been fantastic this year for the Commodores in an ultra-competitive SEC. On Sunday, she rose to new heights. scoring 55 points, a national freshman record, as she poured in 55 points in a win over Auburn.
Blakes, a 2024 McDonald’s All-American, has had some huge games this year previously. A few weeks ago, she had a ridiculous 53 points against Florida, which was the previous freshman D1 record, and has multiple other games scoring over 30 points.
But, they all pale in comparison to her performance on Sunday. Blakes had a ridiculous 55 points as Vanderbilt won in overtime, 98-88.
Every bucket from Mikayla Blakes' RECORD-BREAKING 55-POINT GAME 🔥 @mikaylablakes | @VandyWBB pic.twitter.com/DMikZD9OW0
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) February 17, 2025
Blakes, who stands just 5’8, has been a phenomenal free throw shoooter all year, and that continued tonight. She was a remarkable 23-24 from the foul line, and that played a big role in breaking the record. Before her 53-point game earlier this year, the record belonged to current USC superstar JuJu Watkins, who scored 51 in a game last year.
She’s got a long way to go to break Caitlin Clark’s all-time scoring record of 3,951 points. But, Blakes is off to a fantastic start this year in terms of chasing down the game’s top all-time scorers.