Mikayla Blakes didn’t necessarily have the resume to truly contend for National Freshman of the Year. Now, she’s On3’s frontrunner. The Vanderbilt Commodores have two ranked victories in the last two weeks and also nearly upset then-No.

A week after hitting a game-winning put-back against Tennessee, Blakes had a night that will live on even longer: She scored 53 points in the Commodores’ 99-86 win over Florida on Thursday in Gainesville, setting an NCAA single-game record for a freshman. The total is also the highest single-game mark for any player in SEC history.

Vanderbilt basketball coach Shea Ralph had a few choices when drawing up the play down one against No. 15 Tennessee. She could give the ball to star forward Khamil Pierre, a monster athlete who's often unstoppable in the paint.