GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Mikayla Blakes scored an SEC women’s basketball record 53 points after making 16 field goals and 16 free throws to help No. 23 Vanderbilt beat Florida 99-86 on Thursday night.
Blakes’ point total is also the second-most points by a freshman in Division I history behind Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne, who scored 54 in a loss to James Madison as a redshirt freshman in 2010.
Blakes scored 33 in a win over then-No. 19 Alabama in her last game. Her previous season high was 36 against Georgia on Jan. 2.
Blakes is the only Division I player — men’s or women’s — to score at least 50 points in a game this season.
“I told the team in the locker room that Mikayla had one of the most incredible performances that I’ve ever seen as a coach, and I’ve coached a lot of really good players for a long time,” Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph said. “And that’s not taking anything away from them. When you see player like her do what she did tonight, sometimes she makes things that are really, really hard to do look really easy. That’s the sign of someone who is just gifted.”
Blakes’ 53 points also tied the Exactech Arena at O’Connell Center scoring record set by LSU men’s basketball player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf during the 1988-89 season. Blakes also…
