Vanderbilt entered the game hoping to secure one of two wins in the SEC tournament to strengthen their case for a No. 1 seed. While fans expected a close matchup, it all unravelled in the fourth quarter.

The referee called Mikayla Blakes for her fourth foul with 9:25 remaining as she dove for a loose ball next to a Rebels player. Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph immediately walked onto the court, pointed at the official, and voiced her frustration. 

Moments later, the referees tossed her from the game that Vanderbilt ultimately lost 89–78 to Ole Miss. "How is that a f****** foul? You s***. You s*** a**," said Ralph, as fellow Vanderbilt staff calmed her down.

“I wasn’t trying to get kicked out,” Ralph said after the game. “I was on the court. But I also think that at that time what I said was warranted. And the action that I took was warranted. You want to kick me out for it, then they can kick me out.”

She continued, praising her team’s competitiveness. “What I do love is the fight of my team. There are only so many ways you can say something over and over again. So I said it differently to the official and got kicked out, which is fine. First time in my career.”

However, when reporters later asked her to elaborate further, Ralph declined, joking that she did not want to risk a fine. But while Vanderbilt lost the game, the moment quickly spread across social media. 

Fans Rushed Online to Defend The Coach.

“She is 100% correct. SEC officials have been awful this year. No accountability for the officials at all,” one user wrote.

The frustration partly stemmed from Blakes' difficult night. Notably, she’s the nation’s leading scorer, but for the game versus Ole Miss, she struggled offensively. She missed her first 10 shots and picked up three early fouls. At one point, she had missed 19 straight shots, dating back to Vanderbilt’s previous meeting with Ole Miss.

So when she was called for her fourth foul, some fans believed Ralph had every reason to protest. “She was right!” another fan wrote.

Vanderbilt also started the game slowly. The Commodores scored just six points in the first quarter, their lowest output of the season. By the fourth quarter, they trailed by 24 points.

“And she’s right. SEC officiating is a joke across all sports,” another fan added. Despite the loss, the ejection had a silver lining.

“Should have done this earlier - her team played a LOT better from this point on,” penned a spectator.

After Ralph left the court, Vanderbilt went on a 15–0 run and played with renewed energy. However, the rally came too late. The Commodores never got closer than 11 points and ultimately fell short. Now Vandy is up for the second seed.

Read more at She Got Game!

Written by

Yashika Dutta

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi