Lady Blazers cruise late to big road Region 24 win at Rend Lake College

INA, Ill. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers hit the road Wednesday night heading to Ina, Ill. for another tough Region 24 contest against Rend Lake College.

The Lady Blazers battled all game long and were able to pull away late, allowing only nine points in the fourth quarter to come away with the 77-52 victory over the Lady Warriors.

VU got off to a bit of a slow start, after scoring the first five points of the game Rend Lake answered back with eight straight and would hold the lead for most of the opening quarter of play.

Vincennes would get back on track late in the first quarter, closing out the opening period on a 9-0 scoring run to take a 19-15 lead into the second quarter.

VU continued this scoring run into the second quarter, opening the second period by outscoring the Lady Warriors 9-2 to increase the lead to 28-17.

The Lady Blazers would get their lead to as many as 15 in the first half before the Lady Warriors hit a late three to cut the VU lead to 39-27 heading into the locker room at the break.

Vincennes kept playing tough into the second half, using an 11-3 scoring run midway through the third quarter to increase the lead to 54-38.

The two teams would trade baskets to close out the third quarter, with the Lady Blazers holding a strong 60-43 lead going into the final 10 minutes of play.

Rend Lake looked to put together a late comeback in the fourth quarter but were unable to keep the offense going as the Lady Warriors were held to just nine points in the final 10 minutes of play.

VU kept their foot on the gas all night and closed out the game strong with a 10-0 scoring run to pull away and close out the 77-52 victory.

Th Lady Blazers were led offensively by another outstanding game by freshman Emani Washington (Indianapolis, Ind.) who had a very efficient night, scoring 29 points on 17 shots, while also dishing out three assists.

Freshman Netala Dixon (Dyersburg, Tenn.) got the offense going early and came away with her first collegiate double-double Wednesday night, filling up the stats sheet with 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Freshman Delora Pricop (Satu Mare, Romania) came away with her fourth straight double-double and ninth of the season Wednesday night, finishing her game with 12 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.

Freshman Ahmya Thomas (Phoenix, Ariz.) was the fourth Lady Blazer in double figures scoring, ending her night with 12 points, five assists and four rebounds.

The Lady Blazers will look to keep this momentum going as they get set to hit the road again Saturday, Jan. 18 when VU heads to Rockford, Ill. to face off against Rock Valley College at 2 p.m. eastern.

VU will return home to open the following week of action when Vincennes hosts Region 24 opponent Olney Central College inside the P.E. Complex, Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 5 p.m. eastern.

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (77): Ahmya Thomas 4-13 2-3 12, Marta Gutierrez 2-5 0-0 5, Emani Washington 12-17 2-2 29, Netala Dixon 7-15 5-5 19, Delora Pricop 6-8 0-0 12, Jazmyn Robey 0-4 0-0 0, Yanni Huggins 0-1 0-0 0, Team 31-63 9-10 77.

Rend Lake – 15   12   16   9 – 52

VU (9-9, 4-1) – 19   20   21   17 – 77

Three-point goals: VU 6 (Washington 3, Thomas 2, Gutierrez). Rebounds: VU 38 (Pricop 13). Assists: VU 18 (Thomas 5, Dixon 5). Steals: VU 9 (Dixon 4). Blocked Shots: VU 4 (Dixon 2, Pricop 2). Turnovers: VU 16. Personal Fouls: VU 14. Fouled out: Pricop.