No. 2 seed VU Lady Trailblazers advance after win over No. 7 Lincoln Trail

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers opened postseason play Sunday afternoon inside the Physical Education Complex.

The Lady Blazers earned the No. 2 seed in the 2024 NJCAA Division I Region 24/Midwest District Championship tournament and faced No. 7 seed Lincoln Trail College in the opening round.

Vincennes held serve on the home court, using a big third quarter scoring run to run away with a 96-54 victory over the Lady Statesmen.

The Lady Trailblazers got off to a quick start Sunday afternoon, opening the game by outscoring Lincoln Trail 21-3.

Lincoln Trail would close the first quarter on a 7-2 scoring run, but still trailed after the first 10 minutes of play 23-10 to VU.

Vincennes continued to add on to their lead in the second quarter, using an 11-2 scoring run to increase the lead to 34-14, before using a 10-0 scoring run late in the second quarter to take a 46-19 advantage.

Lincoln Trail would answer before the halftime break, scoring the final two baskets of the second quarter to head into the locker room trailing the Lady Trailblazers 46-24.

Vincennes again opened the third quarter firing from the floor, outscoring Lincoln Trail 9-2 early in the second half before fully pulling away with a massive 18-0 scoring run to take a 73-31 lead.

The two teams traded baskets for the rest of the third quarter, with the Blazers holding a 75-35 lead going into the final 10 minutes of play.

Vincennes looked to put the game away for good in the fourth quarter, opening the final period of play on a 15-2 scoring run to take a 90-37 lead.

At this point VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Harry Meeks opted to play his reserves to run the game out.

Lincoln Trail continued to battle and would close out the game by outscoring VU 17-6 but were unable to overcome the deficit as Vincennes advances to the Region 24/Midwest District Semi-Finals by winning 96-54 over the Lady Statesmen.

The Lady Trailblazers were led offensively by a big night inside the paint by sophomore Elikya Baseyila (Paris, France), who just missed out on a double-double with a game-high 22 points, matching her season high. Baseyila also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists in the game.

Freshman Destinee Hooks (Indianapolis, Ind.) finished out her night with 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

Sophomore Brie Miller (Bainbridge, Ind.) came off the bench to finish out a 12-point, 16-rebound double-double, her fifth double-double of the season and sixth in her VU career.

Freshman Karina Scott (Noblesville, Ind.) also scored in double-figures, hitting three three-pointers to come away with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore Najra Voloder (Konjic, Bosnia) came off the bench to score in double figures for just the fifth time in her VU career, ending her day with 10 points and five rebounds.

Freshmen Makyla Tucker (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Giavonnie Belton (Indianapolis, Ind.) each finished the game with nine points, with Tucker leading the Lady Blazers with seven assists and five steals.

Sophomore Maycee Lange (Vincennes, Ind.) ended the game with seven points, five rebounds and a team-high three blocks.

The Lady Trailblazers advance to the NJCAA Division I Region 24/Midwest District Semi-Finals, which will be held Tuesday, March 12 at Lake Land College in Matton, Ill.

VU will take on the winner of No. 3 seed Southwestern Illinois College and No. 6 seed Rend Lake College Tuesday night at 8 p.m. for the chance to play in the Region 24 Championship game Thursday, March 14.

The winner of the NJCAA Division I Region 24/Midwest District tournament will receive an automatic bid into the NJCAA Division I National Tournament, held in the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyo. March 26 through Apr. 1.

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (96): Destinee Hooks 6-16 1-2 14, Karina Scott 4-9 0-0 11, Katrina Litte 1-2 0-0 2, Elikya Baseyila 10-17 2-2 22, Maycee Lange 3-6 1-2 7, Giavonnie Belton 4-12 0-0 9, Makyla Tucker 4-9 0-0 9, Najra Voloder 5-9 0-0 10, Brie Miller 6-12 0-0 12, Team 43-92 4-6 96.

Lincoln Trail – 10    14    11   19 – 54

VU (18-10, 13-2) – 23   23   29   21 – 96

Three-point goals: VU 6 (Scott 3, Hooks, Belton, Tucker). Rebounds: VU 54 (Miller 16). Assists: VU 30 (Tucker 7). Steals: VU 16 (Tucker 5). Blocked Shots: VU 5 (Lange 3). Turnovers: VU 9. Personal Fouls: VU 18. Fouled out: None.