Hitting a winning shot in basketball is a special experience. But hitting one 24 hours after your sibling achieved the same feat? That’s where special meets improbable.
On Saturday, Stanford senior guard Jaylen Blakes scored 20 points and the winning basket with less than a second remaining in a key ACC road win against North Carolina.
Blakes. Onions.#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/kcwL7712np
— Stanford Men’s Basketball (@StanfordMBB) January 18, 2025
On Sunday, one state over in Nashville, Tennessee, Jaylen’s younger sister, Mikayla Blakes, repeated the feat for Vanderbilt.
Mikayla Blakes’ Commodores trailed in-state rival Tennessee by one point and had a chance to win the game on their last possession. She grabbed an offensive rebound after a missed layup, and her putback moved the Commodores ahead by one with 0.4 seconds remaining.
After the game, their father was unsurprisingly fired up.
The face of a proud dad 🥹
Mikayla Blakes and brother Jaylen Blakes both hit game winning shots within 24 hours of one another.#AnchorDown https://t.co/jJZZnnXulp pic.twitter.com/mCSB9OxHe1
— Vanderbilt WBB (@VandyWBB) January 19, 2025
Jaylen will be back in action Wednesday, when Stanford takes on Miami. Mikayla will return to the court Thursday, when Vanderbilt hosts Arkansas.
