Vanderbilt hosts Illinois with its 1st Sweet 16 berth since 2009 on the line in March Madness

By Canadian Press on March 22, 2026.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Illinois coach Shauna Green dropped a name during film study to help her Fighting Illini better prepare for their second-round women’s NCAA Tournament game against the nation’s leading scorer All-American Mikayla Blakes.

Caitlin Clark.

“I referenced her this morning in film with Blakes just because of how and the volume they shoot at and how she’ll pull up from really deep in transition and how you just can’t let them,” Green said. “They’re going to get their shots off, but you got to try to make their life as hard as possible in that 40 minutes.”

Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph said Clark is one of the best players ever in women’s basketball. Blakes? Well, the 5-foot-8 guard has her own style, and the second-seeded Commodores are used to Blakes topping opponent’s scouting reports.

Nothing changes Monday night with a Sweet 16 berth in Fort Worth 1 Region on the line against No. 7 seed Illinois.

“We prepare for those moments,” Ralph said Sunday. “And I understand and Mikayla does too that she’s really hard to guard. I don’t know that you can guard her. But I do know that if you try, then our team is going to make you pay.”

Focusing on Blakes is easy enough. She is the Southeastern Conference player of the year and Vanderbilt’s first All-American since 2003. The guard averaged 27.1 points a game this season and scored 30.5 a game in league play.

Blakes set the program’s single-season scoring record in Vanderbilt’s opening win Saturday night. Her 867 points trail only Chamique Holdsclaw’s 915 for Tennessee in 1997-98 for the most by a Southeastern Conference player in the NCAA era.

Vanderbilt (28-4) set the goal of hosting games at Memorial Gym to open this NCAA Tournament, and now the Commodores find themselves 40 minutes from the program’s first Sweet 16 berth since 2009. Reaching the second weekend long had been the standard here with 14 berths in the first 22 trips.

“That’s what I came to Vanderbilt for was to get to a Sweet 16, and hopefully further than that,” said senior Justine Pissott, who transferred in from Tennessee in 2023. “But I’m also thankful that I get to be in this position with Mikayla by my side.”

Illinois (22-11) has only two Sweet 16 berths in 10 previous NCAA trips, the last in 1998. The Fighting Illini believe playing in the Big Ten helps, especially a season featuring a close game at Iowa in late February, has them ready.

“Obviously it’s a huge one to beat someone on their home court,” Illinois guard Maddie Webber said of playing Vanderbilt. “That’s obviously a goal of ours. And I think we’re really prepared. We’ve played really good teams on their home court. So I think we just have to apply what we’ve learned.”

Bliss of youth

Illinois earned its at-large bid even with the Big Ten’s youngest roster, and these Fighting Illini have a win with the youngest team in this tournament.

They had an average age of 19.83 to start this season, third-youngest among the power conferences trailing only Kansas State and Creighton. Leading scorer Cearah Parchment, who turns 19 on July 4, was born five days after Apple launched the iPhone.

“That’s why I said with your youth, sometimes they don’t know what they don’t know,” Green said. “So they just go out there and play basketball and maybe not overthink a moment or make a moment — put so much pressure on themselves because it is a NCAA Tournament.”

Freshmen point guards

This game will match a pair of young point guards in Destiny Jackson for Illinois against Vanderbilt’s Aubrey Galvan, the SEC freshman of the year. Jackson was on the Big Ten’s All-Freshman Team and had a double-double in Illinois’ first-round win over Colorado. Galvan averages 13.1 points and 5.9 assists a game.

Perfect at home

Vanderbilt is 17-0 at home this season, including the Commodores’ first-round win over High Point. The Commodores set the program NCAA record scoring 102 points in that win. Another victory Monday night would cap the season with a perfect record at Memorial Gym for the first time in Vanderbilt history. ___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press

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