Grant’s late scoring not enough as Lady Blazers fall to Lindsey Wilson JV in overtime

COLUMBIA, Ky. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers hit the road Tuesday night to face off against the Lindsey Wilson JV Blue Raiders.

Lindsey Wilson took the lead early but were not quite able to pull away from Vincennes, with the Blue Raiders holding a one-point lead after the first quarter.

Lindsey Wilson was able to expand their lead in the second quarter with a late scoring run to send the Lady Trailblazers into the locker room facing a 39-34 deficit.

Vincennes picked up the pace and attacked the basket more in the third quarter as sophomore Laila Grant (Derwood, Md.) continually found sophomore Nina Blade (Milwaukee, Wis.) in the lane as Blade would go on to score 16 of VU's 25 third quarter points as the Blazers evened the score at 59-59 heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation.

The battle continued throughout the fourth quarter, with neither team able to pull away. Laila Grant hit a layup to put the Blazers ahead, before freshman Kylee Shelton (Bloomfield, Ind.) hit one of two shots from the line giving VU an 81-79 lead with under 10 seconds to play.

The Blue Raiders raced down the court and found some open space underneath the basket to hit a game-tying layup with 2.2 second remaining.

Vincennes was unable to get a shot away at the buzzer, so this game was headed to overtime.

VU began the overtime period with back-to-back costly turnovers that Lindsey Wilson was able to capitalize on.

Laila Grant scored all eight of VU's points in the overtime period, but it was not enough as the Blue Raiders came away with the 93-89 victory on their home floor.

Vincennes was led offensively by Laila Grant who finished with a game-high 23 points, 20 of which coming in the second half and overtime and a team-leading eight assists.

Nina Blade ended her night with 18 points, all in the second half, to go along with seven rebounds and a team-high two steals.

Sophomore Macy Michels (Teutopolis, Ill.) finished with a double-double on the evening, ending with 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds, while also swatting away four blocked shots and getting a pair of steals.

The Lady Trailblazers will return to their home floor at the P.E. Complex Friday, Nov. 19 when Vincennes hosts the VU Classic.

The Lady Blazers will take on Indiana Tech JV Friday, Nov. 19 at 5 p.m., with No. 20 Wabash Valley slated to take on Highland (IL) at 7 p.m. eastern.

The Classic will conclude Saturday, Nov. 20 when No. 20 Wabash Valley faces Indiana Tech JV at 3 p.m. eastern, followed by Vincennes taking on Highland (IL) at 5 p.m.

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (89): Trinitee Harris 3-3 0-0 6, Cherrelle Newsom 1-8 0-0 2, Nina Blade 7-9 4-6 18, Macy Michels 4-7 4-4 12, Laila Grant 8-16 2-3 23, Chanice Willis 1-3 0-0 3, Day Thornton 1-2 0-0 2, Candela Lascorz 3-4 0-0 6, Elena Aznar 2-4 0-0 4, Guadalupe Lopez 2-2 1-2 5, Kylee Shelton 0-7 3-4 3, Anete Bluma 2-4 0-0 5, Team 34-69 14-19 89.

Lindsey Wilson JV – 18  21  20  22  12 – 93

Vincennes (3-3) – 17  17  25  22  8 – 89

Three-point goals: VU 7 (Grant 5, Willis, Bluma). Rebounds: VU 40 (Michels 10). Assists: VU 23 (Grant 8). Steals: VU 8 (Blade 2, Michels 2, Newsom 2). Blocked Shots: VU 12 (Michels 4). Turnovers: VU 21. Personal Fouls: VU 27. Fouled out: Lopez.