Columbia, S.C. — Vanderbilt’s historic start to the season came to a halt Sunday afternoon, as the No. 5/4 Commodores suffered their first loss of the 2025–26 campaign in a 103–74 defeat to No. 2/2 South Carolina.
The setback snapped Vanderbilt’s school-record 20-game winning streak and dropped the Commodores to 20–1 overall and 6–1 in SEC play. Despite the loss, Vanderbilt remains off to the best 21-game start in program history, matching the 20–1 mark set by the 1992–93 Final Four team.
Sophomore All-American Mikayla Blakes led Vanderbilt with a game-high 23 points while adding seven boards and five assists. The Somerset, New Jersey native extended her double-digit scoring streak to 40 games, the longest active streak in the SEC and the third-longest nationally.
Graduate guard Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda joined Blakes in double figures, scoring 13 points while knocking down a career-high three three-pointers. It marked just the third time in her 124-game collegiate career that Mwenentanda connected on multiple triples in a single contest.
South Carolina seized control early, opening the game with relentless pace and efficiency. The Gamecocks raced to a 33–16 lead by the end of the first quarter and extended the margin to as many as 21 points midway through the second. Vanderbilt responded with a strong late surge before halftime, closing the period on a 15–5 run to trim the deficit to 55–44 at the break.
The Commodores carried that momentum into the third quarter, scoring on back-to-back possessions to pull within single digits at 55–48. South Carolina quickly answered, however, rattling off 15 of the next 17 points to rebuild a commanding 70–50 advantage. The Gamecocks maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way, never allowing Vanderbilt to threaten down the stretch.
All nine Vanderbilt players who saw the floor scored, marking the first time since the Dec. 20 win over Texas Southern that every participating Commodore recorded points. Still, the Dores were unable to keep pace with South Carolina’s inside dominance and ball pressure.
Vanderbilt shot 45.9 percent from the field and connected on 12 three-pointers but committed a season-high 20 turnovers, 16 of which came in the first half. South Carolina shot an impressive 61.5 percent from the floor, forced those turnovers into points, and outscored Vanderbilt 56–24 in the paint.
“I think we can learn a ton from a game like this,” head coach Shea Ralph said. “It was an incredible environment, and credit to South Carolina — I thought they played really well. We turned the ball over too much early, and that made it hard to win. But this doesn’t erase what we’ve accomplished. Games like this show us what we need to grow, and how we respond is what matters most.”
Up Next:
Vanderbilt continues its two-game SEC road swing Thursday at No. 18/18 Ole Miss. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. South Carolina will travel to Alabama to face Auburn on Thursday, Jan. 29, with a 9 p.m. tip time.
