Lange’s double-double guides Lady Blazers to home opener win over Jefferson

VINCENNES, Ind. – Vincennes native and Lady Blazer freshman Maycee Lange finished off a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double to give the Lady Trailblazers a 75-54 win over Jefferson College in VU's first game on the home floor this season.

Both teams got off to a very slow start Tuesday night. The game was deadlocked at 1-1 midway through the opening quarter.

Vincennes hit a few shots late in the first quarter to stay tied at 10-10 after the first 10 minutes of play.

The Lady Blazers opened up in the second quarter, using a 6-0 lead to break away for a 20-14 lead and hold a 20-17 lead at the halftime break.

VU freshmen Maycee Lange (Vincennes, Ind.) and Katrina Litte (Valmeira, Latvia) began to expand the Vincennes lead in the third quarter, with Lange scoring 10 points in the third period alone as VU took a 46-39 lead into the final quarter of play.

Vincennes opened the fourth quarter on a 15-4 scoring run to take an 18-point lead and later used a 10-0 scoring run to help seal the game away as Vincennes cruised late to their third win of the season by the final score 75-54.

"I thought we did have a lot of jitters in the first half," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Harry Meeks said. "We didn't take quality shots, although I thought we played really hard defensively. I think we could have scored a little bit more if we had been more relaxed. But unfortunately, I can't get into their brain and get them to relax."

"We did a really good job of coming back in the second half and scoring some points," Meeks added. "In the first half, it looked like we could run anything offensively that we have been running in practice. Second half, we finally found a couple of things that were working for us, including our defense, which put a lot of pressure on them. We were able to get some steals and easy baskets that helped us get away from them."

VU was led offensively off the bench by Katrina Litte who finished with 17 points, including three three-point shots and a team-high six assists.

Maycee Lange finished off her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while also adding a pair of assists and steals.

Freshman Elikya Baseyila (Paris, France) just missed a double-double, ending with 10 points and nine rebounds, seven of which coming on the offensive glass. Baseyila also led the Blazers with three blocks.

Freshman Brie Miller (Greencastle, Ind.) came off the bench to add nine points and three rebounds, while sophomore Chanice Willis (Champaign, Ill.) ended with eight points and two rebounds.

The Lady Blazers applied the pressure defensively all night, forcing the Lady Vikings into 28 turnovers and a 36-percent shooting percentage, including a 23-percent shooting percentage in the first half.

"We had a couple of players that I thought had really good nights," Meeks said. "Katrina, at the point, really showed up really well. She was able to feed the ball and run the offense and kept us in what we wanted to be in. I was really pleased with the way she played tonight."

"Maycee Lange did a really good job of shooting the basketball," Meeks added. "She played good defense. Maycee had a bunch of rebounds and played very aggressive basketball. She's fun to watch. She plays hard and we've got a whole team like that."

"I've got to get our bigs to play a little better," Meeks said. "They have to make some room under the basket and be able to score on offensive rebounds. We got a bunch of offensive rebounds tonight that we didn't convert. We are really going to have to work on that."

"I'm pleased with how we played in the second half," Meeks added. "I thought we really played hard. Everybody we put on the floor played hard and that's really nice to see."

The Lady Blazers will return to the P.E. Complex floor this weekend when Vincennes hosts the VU Classic Friday, Nov. 11 and Saturday, Nov. 12.

Vincennes will tip-off the weekend event Friday against No. 13 Moberly Area at 1 p.m. eastern and close out the weekend set against No. 25 Three Rivers Saturday at 3 p.m. eastern.

No. 25 Three Rivers will face-off against Campbellsville JV at 3 p.m. Friday and No. 13 Moberly Area will play Campbellsville JV Saturday at 1 p.m. eastern.

 "We've got to prepare in the next two days for two really tough contests," Meeks said. "Both Moberly and Three Rivers are both well deserving of being in the top-25. Three Rivers just beat Wabash Valley last week. They will be a really good team. Last year, for a big portion of the season, they were the No. 1 team in the country."

"Moberly Area plays really well against us," Meeks added. "Coach Hana Haden does a really good job of recruiting and coaching for them. I think it will be a fun weekend if you are a basketball fan. There will be some terrific basketball played here this weekend at the P.E. Complex. We would like to invite everybody, if you would like to see some really good Junior College women's basketball come over this weekend."

BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (75): Maycee Lange 5-14 0-0 12, Elikya Baseyila 3-8 4-5 10, Cherrelle Newsom 2-9 0-0 5, Chanice Willis 3-8 0-2 8, Daylynn Thornton 2-7 0-0 4, Kennadi Harris 3-11 0-0 6, Elena Tzelou 0-0 0-0 0, Nyre Williams 2-7 0-0 4, Katrina Litte 7-8 0-0 17, Ra'Mya Milton 0-2 0-0 0, Najra Voloder 0-2 0-0 0, Brie Miller 4-6 1-1 9, Team 31-82 5-8 75.

Jefferson – 10   7   22   15 – 54

VU (3-0) – 10   10   26   29 – 75

Three-point goals: VU 8 (Litte 3, Lange 2, Willis 2, Newsom). Rebounds: VU 41 (Lange 11). Assists: VU 14 (Little 6). Steals: VU 9 (Lange 2, Miller 2). Blocked Shots: VU 6 (Baseyila 3). Turnovers: VU 15. Personal Fouls: VU 18. Fouled out: None.