Lady Blazers start season strong with big win over John Wood

MOBERLY, Mo. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers began their 2022-23 season Friday afternoon at the Orschlen Classic at Moberly Area College.

The Lady Blazers took on John Wood Community College and came away with a strong 81-55 victory behind a very nice performance from sophomore Chanice Willis (Champaign, Ill.) who led the Blazers with 24 points.

Vincennes got off to a slow start but were able to pull away late in the first quarter to lead by six after the first 10 minutes of play.

The Blazers continued to add to their lead early in the second quarter with a 9-0 scoring run to take a 27-16 lead.

John Wood would respond but were only able to cut into the lead by three as Vincennes went into the locker room holding a 34-26 advantage.

Vincennes continued to add to their lead in the third quarter, building a 15-point lead before John Wood rallied back to cut the deficit to 10 points heading into the final quarter of play.

VU really took control of the game in the fourth quarter, pulling away late to close out the game on a 9-0 scoring run to take the season opener 81-55.

Vincennes was led by an outstanding performance by Chanice Willis, who ended her day with 24 points, 17 of which coming in the second half and a team-high five steals.

Freshman Maycee Lange (Vincennes, Ind.) had a good game in her Trailblazer debut, finishing with 14 points, three rebounds and two blocks.

Sophomore Daylynn Thornton (Lafayette, Ind.) finished with 12 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Sophomore Cherrelle Newsom (Indianapolis, Ind.) got the VU offense going in the first half with a pair of first quarter threes on her way to 11 points and three assists.

Freshman Elikya Baseyila (Paris, France) dominated the offensive glass, ending her first collegiate game with a team-high 11 rebounds, eight coming on the offensive glass and seven assists. Baseyila also recorded three steals and four points.

The Lady Blazers will look to continue their winning ways tomorrow, Nov. 5, when Vincennes closes out the weekend classic against Danville Area Community College. Tip-off time is scheduled for 2 p.m. eastern.

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (81): Cherrelle Newsom – 4-11 0-0 11, Chanice Willis – 11-17 0-2 24, Brie Miller 2-5 0-0 4, Elikya Baseyila 2-5 0-2 4, Maycee Lange 4-9 3-4 14, Kennadi Harris 3-9 0-0 6, Daylynn Thornton 5-10 1-2 12, Elena Tzelou 1-1 0-0 2, Nyre Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Katrina Litte 0-2 0-0 0, Ra'Mya Milton 0-0 0-0 0, Najra Voloder 2-7 0-2 4, Team 34-76 4-12 81.

John Wood – 12   14   16   13 – 55

VU (1-0) – 18   16   18   29 – 81

Three-point goals: VU 9 (Newsom 3, Lange 3, Willis 2, Thornton). Rebounds: VU 43 (Baseyila 11). Assists: VU 20 (Baseyila 7). Steals: VU 16 (Willis 5). Blocked Shots: VU 3 (Lange 2). Turnovers: VU 17. Personal Fouls: VU 20. Fouled out: VU  - Voloder.