Hooks named Player of the Year, Baseyila earns All-Region honors

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers picked up a pair of big season honors with freshman Destinee Hooks (Indianapolis, Ind.) earning 2024 Region 24 Player of the Year honors, as well as being named Freshman of the Year in Region 24, while sophomore Elikya Baseyila (Paris, France) earned All-Region 24 honors for the second time.

Hooks burst onto the college basketball scene after missing nine of VU's first 10 games by putting together a 21-point, six assist game to lead the Lady Blazers to a win over Parkland College.

Hooks earned her first of four double doubles this season with 24 points and 10 rebounds against Jefferson College.

Hooks would also earn NJCAA Player of the Week honors in February after posting 35 points and 13 rebounds against Wabash Valley and 37 points and 11 rebounds against John A. Logan.

Hooks closed out the season as VU's leading scorer, averaging 21.1 points, currently sixth in the NJCAA, 6.5 rebounds and five assists per game, currently 17th in the NJCAA, while also averaging 2.9 steals per game, currently 32nd in the NJCAA, for the Lady Blazers.

"It truly means a lot to me to be named Region Player of the Year," Hooks said. "Especially with missing my first 10 games with a broken hand. It shows the hard work and dedication that I put in to deserve this. It is truly a blessing from god to have this recognition. I just feel so blessed and honored and I am so happy to get to share this moment with my family, friends and team."

"My favorite memory from this season is doing some of our team bonding activities," Hooks added. "We would all go paint canvases and walk to the bridge and have some fun outside."

"Some advice I have to give is to just put in the extra hours and work on your craft every day," Hooks said. "Perfect the things you do really well and work on the moves that aren't so down pat."

VU sophomore Elikya Baseyila successfully defended her All-Region 24 status from last season by earning the honor again after averaging 11.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.

Baseyila ended the season with 12 double doubles and scored in double figures 20 times this past season, including scoring 10 or more points in VU's last 11 games.

Baseyila closed out her VU career strong after finishing with 19 points and 18 rebounds in the Region 24 Championship game.

Baseyila is currently ranked 23rd in the country in rebounds per game and 15th in the NJCAA with an average of 4.9 offensive rebounds per game.

Baseyila closed out her two-year Lady Trailblazers career with a total of 664 points and 593 rebounds, which is third all-time in Lady Blazers history and 76 blocks, which is 10th all-time in VU women's basketball history.

Baseyila's 307 rebounds this season also puts her seventh on VU's all-time list for rebounds in a single season.

"Being named to the All-Region team and receiving this honor for the second time at VU means a great deal to me," Baseyila said. "It is recognition of my consistent performance over these two years and recognition of my contribution to the team. It's also a recognition of my dedication and recognition of my skills and commitment to VU. It's a great honor and a source of pride to me."

"My favorite memory at Vincennes University was when I went to the NJCAA All-Star game in Atlanta this past summer with Coach Meeks," Baseyila added. "It was an incredible experience and full of memories."

"I don't really have any advice to give," Baseyila said. "I just think that working hard, focusing on your goals and believing in yourself can be the key for anyone who wants to be All-Region or more."

This duo led the Lady Trailblazers to a final record of 19-11 on the season, including winning 16 of their last 20 games of the season and earning a spot in the Region 24 Championship game for the second year in a row.

ALL-REGION HONORS

Player of the Year – DESTINEE HOOKS – VINCENNES

ALL-REGION 24 TEAM

DESTINEE HOOKS – VINCENNES

Aaliyah Smith – Wabash Valley

Beautiful Waheed – Wabash Valley

Graycie Poe – Lincoln Trail

Ariana Bennett – Southwestern Illinois

Taylor Horton – John A. Logan

ELIKYA BASEYILA – VINCENNES

Shamya Reid – Wabash Valley

Kuryn Brunson – Wabash Valley

Cortney Dove – Olney Central

Carly Forster – Rend Lake

Keyara Baerga-Plumey – Southwestern Illinois

Chloe Davis – Wabash Valley

Kaedence Gipson – Olney Central

Samya Johnson – John A. Logan

Freshman of the Year – DESTINEE HOOKS – VINCENNES

Sportsmanship Award – Graycie Poe – Lincoln Trail

Coach of the Year – Luke Scheidecker – Wabash Valley