Why Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph still wants more after 14-0 start

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Vanderbilt women's basketball coach Shea Ralph is quite restless when it comes to the Commodores.

Despite No. 13 Vanderbilt (14-0, 1-0 SEC) starting SEC play with an 88-71 victory against Arkansas (11-5, 0-1) at Bud Walton Arena on Jan. 1, Ralph believes that the ceiling is still much higher.

"I think there are lots of things we can clean up. I thought we gave them too many open threes," Ralph said. "There were moments in the second half where I kept pushing my team to step on their necks. We should've beaten them by double what we beat them by."

Mikayla Blakes tied her season-high with 35 points for Vanderbilt.

One bright spot for the Commodores was the play of 5-foot-6 guard Aubrey Galvan, who finished with 14 points and six assists.

"She's still a freshman," Ralph said. "One of the things people said about her is that she's too small for our league. She took that personally. She plays a lot bigger than she is because she brings savviness, confidence, and competitiveness.

"I would like her to stop turning the ball over with crazy passes," she said, chuckling. "But if that's all I have to worry about from her for right now, then I'll take it."

Ralph doesn't mind her never-satisfied approach.

MORE: Where Vanderbilt women rank in college basketball polls after beating Virginia

"I'm never happy," Ralph said. "But, this is where I like to live. I think I can be more honest with this team because I think our ceiling is really high. I need this team to understand that every possession matters. And today we had a game where we should've beaten them by 40. I want that killer instinct to exist in their hearts, no matter who we play. We have it in us, but we have to have it for the full 40 minutes.

"But, I still celebrate them, and they know that. Celebrating them matters. But at the end of the day, our job here is to win championships."

Kamryn Jackson covers high school and college sports for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Greenville News and Anderson Independent Mail, and the USA TODAY Network. Please email her at KEJackson@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @KamxJack.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph still wants more after 14-0 start

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