Khamil Pierre assures Swish Appeal that fans will definitely see her dunk—and soon. There’s something special happening at Vanderbilt this season, and it extends beyond just what’s on the court.

Over the weekend, the Commodores, now 10-1, scored a decisive win against Evansville, beating the visiting team 106-40. If there was one member of the team who really pulled out all the stops in the victory, it was sophomore forward Khamil Pierre, who was responsible for 42 of those points—a new program record—and who nearly executed a fourth-quarter dunk. She says she would have easily slammed it home if she hadn’t had “dead legs” at that point in the game. In short, don’t worry Vandy fans. She’ll be dunking in your faces soon.

Freshman guard Mikayla Blakes also had a strong game with 22 points, four boards, three assists and two steals, continuing the progress that consistently has her ranked as one of the top two freshmen in women’s college basketball right now (UConn’s Sarah Strong is the other one). Blakes and Pierre—who are both Medicine, Health, and Society majors—are exciting, dominant players to watch on the court, and it turns out they’re both entirely pleasant to speak to off the court, too.

Vandy is in an interesting period of building right now. Head coach Shea Ralph has a strong group of athletes and a vision that’s becoming clear to those of us lucky enough to share the Memorial Coliseum with them. That’s in part due to her own values, and those shared by her athletes. The school stood out during Pierre’s recruiting experience primarily because, as she told Swish Appeal, “I’m a super genuine kid, and I function really well around genuine people, and I felt like that was exactly what Vanderbilt had to offer.”

Pierre received 45 Division I offers while participating in a three-month summer season with the AAU program Arizona Elite. This was after having spent most of her youth focused on soccer. In fact, she didn’t get serious about basketball until her sophomore year of high school, and she joined Arizona Elite the summer between junior and senior years. Receiving such a tidal wave of interest and attention “was shocking to me,” Pierre said. Schools didn’t know who she was, but they could tell that she could hoop—and they all wanted in. The number of phone calls was “overwhelming” at times, but in the end, Pierre feels like she made the right choice.

Blakes, who played at Rutgers Prep in New Jersey, was also recruited by UCLA, Stanford, Rutgers, Indiana, Tennessee and Wisconsin. She similarly expressed a strong respect for Ralph and Vandy’s program. “She was one of the coaches I really felt a relationship with,” Blakes said of Ralph, sharing with Swish Appeal, “I feel like I could tell her anything, and I felt like she was looking out for my best interests.” “She’s a family woman, and just seeing the progress and what she’s built here at Vanderbilt, I just really wanted to be part of it,” she continued. “I believed in her like she believed in me.”

Ralph, who was named head coach of the team in 2021 after spending several years as an assistant coach for UConn, comes from an esteemed basketball background. Her mother, Marsha Lake, represented the United States at the World University Games in Russia in 1973, was UNC’s first female All-American and was part of the group of young women who ushered in the Title IX era. She also coached her daughter, helping guide her toward her own time as a player at UConn.

As for this season, Blakes and Pierre share a common goal: being as good as they, and their teammates, can be. When asked what they wanted for themselves as individuals, both young women quickly pivoted the conversation to what they want for their team as a whole. This pattern of humility and grace was consistent between Blakes and Pierre throughout our separate interviews, and speaks volumes about the culture and coaching at Vanderbilt. In a sport that’s technically a team sport but often focused on individual feats and goals, it was special to speak to team-minded athletes.

“I’m more focused on a team goal. I think just getting into a tournament last year was really cool,” Blakes said. “I think just coming to this team, I want to take us further and I believe we can go a lot further than what we did last year. So I think that’s probably my main goal and I guess whatever accolades come with that, I’ll accept them. But I’m just not really hunting something down. It’s just playing my best and doing what I can.”

“I look up to Coach Ralph,” Pierre emphasized. “I feel like she’s a really good, well-put-together woman. I also look up to my mom, and I have some teammates who I really look up to, who do a lot for me. Jordyn Oliver, a lot of people don’t know, but she’s really my brain on the court. She helps me be where I need to be. She keeps me calm and ready.” “We have a lot of players like that,” she added. “Without them, I wouldn’t be much, so I’m really grateful for that.”

WCBA ball has been nothing short of entertaining lately, and a large part of this is due to the high-level play in the league this season, especially from the pool of WNBA talent.

The only thing that has remained the same over the course of the season thus far is the dominance of the Sichuan Blue Whales, as they are impressively still undefeated at 12-0 and look like the best team in the league. Besides Sichuan, the rest of the league has started to fluctuate, with teams like Wuhan building on success, while teams like the Henan Phoenix seem to be slipping after jumping out to an impressive start earlier this season.

Who’s bringing the flames?

WNBA players have been phenomenal this season. Chennedy Carter looks like an MVP candidate, Kelsey Mitchell’s clutch genes have been as evident as ever, Kalani Brown is providing late-game heroics and many other players from the W are showcasing their abilities outside of the league in convincing fashion.

Continuing to recover from her brief injury absence, Brown had an amazing performance for Inner Mongolia, posting 43 points and nine boards while shooting 17-for-20 from the floor and hitting the dagger in double overtime to seal the game. The craziest part? She missed the last two practices before the matchup as she overcame the flu. Certified baller.

Chennedy Carter is having an all-time run in China right now. She is an MVP favorite and is playing some of, if not the, best basketball of her career. Earlier this week, Carter continued to build on her catalog of greatness this season with a 36-point, four-board, four-assist and four-steal masterpiece. She also hit the first buzzer-beater of the season in the WCBA. Her dedication, professionalism, passion and grind have been a thing of beauty to watch. She is genuinely on another level right now.

Keeping the ball rolling

With the season establishing its groove, teams are starting to hit their strides, or their weaknesses are beginning to be exposed. The only team thus far that hasn’t been cracked is the Blue Whales, who still sit undefeated with no team able to truly unravel them.

Outside of Sichuan, the field is still wide open for the middle of the pack teams. On the other hand, teams like Fujiban, Hebei and Tianjin Zhongxin look to be out of luck as they have still not managed to strike their first wins, as all are sitting at 0-12 this far into the season.

Who will step up next? Will Sichuan get figured out? Who will be the next WNBA star to pop off next? We shall see very soon.

Reebok is now an authorized footwear supplier of the WNBA, as the global sportswear brand and league have announced a multi-year partnership.

Through content featuring Reebok athletes Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky and Lexie Brown of the Los Angeles Sparks, Reebok intends to create inspiring and engaging content that brings fans closer to the game. Reese said of the partnership:

Reebok has been such an amazing partner and advocate for women in sport. As strong female athletes, we can use our platform to set an example for young players coming up in the sport. I’m happy to see the WNBA and Reebok supporting one another because I know that together we’re so much stronger and our reach is so much further.

Reese was the first athlete signed by a revitalized Reebok, tapped by Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson soon after they assumed executive leadership of the brand’s basketball division. Over the summer, she launched the “Reebok by Angel” collection. Additionally, she led the unveiling of the “Engine A” performance basketball shoe, and will debut a signature shoe in 2026. Reese also is the face of the brand’s new ad campaign, “Sport is Everything.”

On extending Reebok’s reach beyond Reese and into the league at large, O’Neal, president of Reebok Basketball, said:

It’s an exciting time for Reebok, the WNBA, and the game of basketball overall. Reebok has always been committed to supporting the growth of the sport, and now with a strong plan, the right resources, and the welcoming arms of the WNBA, we’re ready to dive in headfirst with everything from product to players and more.

The WNBA echoed the statement of O’Neal, with WNBA chief executive growth officer Colie Edison, emphasizing:

The WNBA continues to grow with iconic brands, and we look forward to Reebok joining us in driving women’s basketball to new heights and inspiring the next generation. As we continue to capitalize on increased brand awareness, our work with Reebok is another step in bringing more fans to the game.

Seven rounds in, the 2024-25 WNBL season has been unpredictable, with the reigning champs, the Southside Flyers, finding themselves close to the bottom of the competition and the veteran-dominated Bendigo Spirit showing no signs of slowing down.

The two stories of the week were written by Charli Collier and (once again) Shaneice Swain. However, before we get to them, let’s take a moment to appreciate another big game by the Spirit’s Sami Whitcomb, who helped her team keep their unbeaten streak going by defeating the Townsville Fire, 86-80. The 36-year-old sharpshooter dropped 35 points, while also tallying seven rebounds and six assists.

Charli Collier gets a crazy double-double

Charli Collier didn’t have the best of starts to her professional career. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings was out of the WNBA after two seasons, averaging just 2.9 points and 2.5 boards per game. The 25-year-old Collier has been using her time outside the W to get more playing time and build confidence, which was visible during the UC Capitals’ last game against the Adelaide Lightning.

The Lightning have their own struggles, as they have just hired a new coach, but they ended up winning the game between the two bottom teams in the league, 68-67. The Capitals stayed in the game largely thanks to Collier, who knocked down some big shots, both from the interior and from long-distance, on her way to 27 points. She also grabbed 22 rebounds, giving her an incredible 27-point and 22-rebound double. Unfortunately for Collier and the team from Canberra, she missed the game-winning 3.

The Lightning won in part due to Americans Japreece Dean and Brianna Turner. Dean, a point guard out of UCLA, had 12 points, four assists and six boards, while Turner, a Chicago Sky free agent, had 15 points and nine boards.

The Flames are on fire

In the last three games, Shaneice Swain has scored 25, 20 and 21 points, accordingly. At 21 years old, she has developed a level of consistency often unattainable to more experienced players. In the last game, she struggled from long distance, which forced her to find different ways to score. She made only 3-of-13 3s, but went 6-for-8 on 2-point shots.

Swain has been a vital part of the Flames’ recent success, but the same must be said about Cayla George. The 35-year-old became only the fourth player in WNBL history to score over 5,000 points, after already being the league’s career leader in rebounds. A 2023 WNBA champ with the Las Vegas Aces, George is averaging 16.6 points and 11 boards for the season. In the Flames’ last game against Geelong United, she more or less met those averages, contributing 16 points and 13 rebounds in her team’s narrow win, 81-74.

League standings

1. Bendigo Spirit (9-0)

2. Perth Lynx (7-3)

3. Sydney Flames (4-4)

4. Townsville Fire (4-4)

5. Geelong United (4-5)

6. Adelaide Lightning (3-6)

7. Southside Flyers (3-6)

8. Canberra Capitals (2-8)