Lady Blazers stay strong with win over Malcolm X to start VU Classic

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers picked up their fifth win of the season Friday night at the Physical Education Complex, winning over Malcolm X College 96-70 on the first night of the second VU Classic of the season.

Vincennes grabbed the lead early in the first quarter and quickly built a four-point advantage at the end of the opening 10 minutes of play.

VU would break the game open early in the second quarter, outscoring the Hawks 10-2 to begin the period.

The Lady Blazers would end up taking a 16-point 43-27 lead into the locker room at the break after holding Malcolm X to just nine points in the second quarter.

Vincennes would continue to apply pressure defensively as VU would hold a 66-45 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

The Lady Blazers put the game away in the fourth quarter after a 9-0 scoring run gave the Blazers a 29-point lead.

Malcolm X would trade baskets with the Blazers late in the fourth quarter but were unable to put together a scoring run to cut into the big lead as VU capped off their fifth win of the season 96-70.

"For the first time in a long time we actually scored some points in the first half," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Harry Meeks said. "We ran a couple of plays to get us going early. We ran a play off the tip-off that we scored on."

"Our shooting is still erratic," Meeks added. "I don't know what to fix it with right now, except to play our way out of it. Maycee had a tough night shooting the ball tonight on plays that she usually makes all the time. You can't let that bother you. If you miss a shot, the next one is going in. But our team played really hard. We guarded them full court and tried to tire them out and I think we did a pretty good job of that. I'm really pleased with how the girls played. I think they are excited about how we keep getting better. We've still got some things to clean up, but we're working on it."

Vincennes was led offensively by sophomore Cherrelle Newsom (Indianapolis, Ind.) who finished with 22 points, a pair of steals and a pair of assists, including four makes from behind the three-point arc.

Sophomore Nyre Williams (Indianapolis, Ind.) came off the bench to score in double-figures with 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Freshman Katrina Litte (Valmiera, Latvia) also reached double-figures off the bench, ending with 14 points, a team-high five assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Sophomore Chanice Willis (Champaign, Ill.) was the fourth and final Lady Blazer to reach double-digits, ending with 11 points and three steals.

Freshman Elikya Baseyila (Paris, France) just missed a double-double for Vincennes as the six-foot-one center controlled the offensive glass all night on her way to a team-high 12 rebounds, nine offensive rebounds and nine points.

"I knew that Elikya would rebound for us," Meeks said. "She got some easy put back baskets and that's what she needs to do for us. She's the biggest and best athlete for us on the floor at that position and we have to continue to get production out of her. The other girls had really good games. We ran the floor and did all of the things that you need to do to win."

The Lady Blazers will look to close out the weekend on a high-note Saturday, Nov. 19 when Vincennes returns to the P.E. Complex for the final day of the VU Classic.

VU will play host to Delta College at 5 p.m. eastern, after Wabash Valley begins the day against Malcolm X at 3 p.m. eastern.

Wabash Valley began the second VU Classic of the season by defeating Delta College 104-36.

"We are going to play a full 94-foot game tomorrow," Meeks said. "We are going to push the ball. Play them a full court man-to-man defense and really play as hard as we can possibly play. We need to work on our offense more. We are having difficulty staying in our offense this season. We make one or two passes and it goes away. We are definitely going to have to sure that up."

"I think we play well against a zone," Meeks added. "We can shoot the ball well against the zone. But at this point in the season, we are still having trouble running our man-to-man defense and our man-to-man offense. It's rather simple and I'm surprised that we are not making the progress with that that we should be."

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (96): Brie Miller 1-2 0-0 2, Maycee Lange 0-14 1-2 1, Elikya Baseyila 4-5 1-2 9, Cherrelle Newsom 9-17 0-0 22, Chanice Willis 4-10 2-2 11, Kennadi Harris 3-13 0-0 7, Daylynn Thornton 2-7 1-2 5, Nyre Williams 8-15 1-1 17, Katrina Litte 5-11 2-2 14, Ra'Mya Milton 0-1 0-0 0, Najra Voloder 4-5 0-0 8, Team 40-100 8-11 96.

Malcolm X – 18   9   18   25 – 70

VU (5-2) – 22   21   23   30 – 96

Three-point goals: VU 8 (Newsom 4, Litte 2, Willis, Harris). Rebounds: VU 45 (Baseyila 12). Assists: VU 26 (Thornton 5, Litte 5). Steals: VU 18 (Lange 3, Willis 3, Williams 3, Litte 3). Blocked shots: VU 4 (Thornton 2). Turnovers: VU 18. Personal Fouls: VU 29. Fouled out: None.