NCAAW: How will Mikayla Blakes and Vandy finish off a charmed season?

In the preseason, Vanderbilt was voted to finish seventh in the SEC by the media and eighth by coaches.

The Commodores, instead, are on track for the best conference finish since 2008-09. If they complete their regular-season SEC schedule with two wins, Vanderbilt will close in second place at 11-3, trailing only first-place South Carolina.

Ranked No. 5 nationally, Vandy hosts No. 24 Alabama in Nashville on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET, SECN+). On Sunday, they’ll look to certify their in-state superiority with a win at Tennessee (2 p.m. ET, ESPN).

And although she is far far from the sole reason they’ve exceeded expectations—as head coach Shea Ralph has a solid SEC Coach of the Year case and Aubrey Galvan at least deserves consideration for SEC Freshman of the Year honors—the Commodores would not be among the SEC’s elite without Mikayla Blakes.

Vanderbilt maximizes the greatness of Mikayla Blakes

Blakes’ production is prolific. The nation’s leading scorer with 26.6 points per game, Blakes has notched 10 games of 30 or more points, and she hasn’t scored less than 20 points in SEC action.

She is the engine for a Vanderbilt offense that ranks No. 6 nationally not just because of the amount of buckets she gets, but also because of how and when she gets them. Blakes is best categorized as a four-level scorer, as she can hit the 3, cash from the midrange, slice to the hoop and, yes, get to the free throw line.

While the “free throw merchant” label is deployed as a pejorative, it should be seen as a badge of honor. Blakes’ 8.8 free throws per game in SEC play not only are an indication of how opposing defenders struggle to stop her without hacking, but also of how skilled she is at exploiting every advantage.

It might not be pretty, but getting to the line, where Blakes shoots 85.6 percent overall and 89.4 percent in SEC play, is smart way to guarantee that a possession generates points.

Blakes’ foul drawing artistry is also what makes her so effective down the stretch of games. If the Commodores are in a close game, everyone in the arena knows they want to go to Blakes. And yet, she still finds a way to come through in the clutch—as Kentucky discovered twice this season. Blakes has mastery in late-game matchups, as she knows her defender not only has to worry about her shooting a 3, popping in the midrange or driving, but also fears sending her to the line.

In both women’s college and professional basketball, a reluctance to maximize every possession puzzlingly persists. Josh Felton recently argued that LSU’s resistance to establishing offensive system that consistently prioritizes Mikaylah Williams, the Tigers’ best shooter, could prove to be their downfall in March.

Vandy doesn’t have that problem with their Mikayla.

They don’t hesitate to let Blakes cook, eschewing excessive egalitarianism and allowing her to eat up a SEC-leading usage percentage of 34.3 percent because she produces positive outcomes. Those outcomes also include scoring chances for others, as Blakes leverages all her scoring potential to open up playmaking opportunities. Last season, she averaged 2.8 assists per game in SEC player; this season, she’s up to 5.3, all while not increasing her turnovers.

She’s also not a one-way player.

Blakes and the Commodores win with offense, but their scoring star also contributes to what Vandy does well on defense. Lacking elite size and rim protection, the Commodores opt for aggressiveness on defense, forcing the second-most turnovers and collecting the fourth-most steals among SEC teams. Blakes leads the team with almost three takeaways per game, deploying her quickness to turn swipes into easy transition scores.

Could Mikayla Blakes be the National Player of the Year?

How her individual productivity has translated into team success makes Blakes a lock to be named SEC Player of the Year. She’ll be the first Commodore to capture the honor since Chantelle Anderson in 2001-02.

Blakes is likewise all but assured a spot on All-American First Teams, and while it would be surprising if she won National Player of the Year, as UConn’s Sarah Strong’s two-way efficiency for the nation’s lone undefeated team makes it likely that she’ll collect that hardware, Blakes should receive more than a few votes in her favor.

The Commodores’ remaining games against the Crimson Tide and Lady Vols also give Blakes the opportunity to burnish her case. And considering she turned in games of 53 and 55 points as a freshman, she’s capable of making quite the closing argument.