Johnson Earns First Win as Trailblazers Cruise in Season Opener

VINCENNES, Ind. — The Nyla Johnson era of Vincennes University Women's Basketball began with authority Saturday, November 1, as the Trailblazers powered past Owens Community College, 85–54, at the P.E. Complex to open the 2025–26 season.

It marked both the first win of the season (1–0) and the first career victory at the helm for Johnson, who praised her team's energy while emphasizing areas for improvement. "I'm very upset with our defensive lack of detail," Johnson said. "That's probably the perfectionist in me, but we missed a lot of defensive assignments that will get cleaned up. Overall, I'm very happy with how hard our kids played. They were ready to go from the jump, and we stressed having a really good start — and we had one of those."

The Trailblazers came out firing, storming to a 21–6 first-quarter lead and never trailing the rest of the way. Vincennes shot 45.6 percent from the field, connected on 6-of-21 from beyond the arc, and dominated the boards with a 57–29 rebounding advantage, while holding the Express to just 28.2 percent shooting.

VU displayed impressive balance with five players scoring in double figures, led by sophomore forward Taliya Heron, who tallied 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting and added four rebounds in just 17 minutes of play. Sophomore guard Zion Hayes followed with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, contributing four rebounds, four assists, three steals, and three blocks in an all-around standout performance. Johnson praised both for setting the tone on and off the floor.

"It's great when your best players are your hardest workers," she said. "Taliya is a Division I transfer who understands the next level, and Zion has great character and aspirations of playing at that level. They both understand what it takes and set the tone for our team."

Inside, sophomore Dženifera Rieksta provided a strong presence in the paint with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting and a perfect 5-for-5 at the line, while pulling down eight rebounds to go along with an assist and a block. Sophomore Iris Comesaña-Varela sparked the Trailblazers' perimeter attack with 11 points, hitting 4-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from deep, and adding six rebounds. Rounding out the double-figure scorers was freshman Meredith Mitchell, who came off the bench to post 11 points and three rebounds while providing energy in limited minutes.

Sophomore guard Netala Dixon added to the Trailblazers' dominance on the glass, pulling down a game-high nine rebounds, including eight on the defensive end, while chipping in eight points in 20 minutes of action. Her rebounding presence helped Vincennes maintain control of the tempo and limit Owens' second-chance opportunities.

As a team, Vincennes controlled the paint, scoring 44 points inside, converting 17-of-23 free throws (73.9%), and forcing 16 turnovers that fueled its transition offense.

With the home opener behind them, the Trailblazers now hit the road for a five-game stretch, beginning Monday, Nov. 4, at Mineral Area College. "We just focus on going 1–0 each day and each quarter," Johnson said. "We don't care where we play or who we play — we just love to play basketball."

Hear more from Coach Johnson by clicking here.

Join the Journey

As always, fans can keep up with the Vincennes University Women's Basketball squad all year long through a number of ways:

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