Lady Blazers keep winning streak alive with road Region win at Lincoln Trail

ROBINSON, Ill. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers hit the road Saturday afternoon for another Region 24 showdown, this time heading to nearby Robinson, Ill. to face off against Lincoln Trail College.

The Lady Blazers battled from beginning to end and were able to increase their winning streak to three with an 80-69 victory over the Lady Statesmen.

VU got off to a bit of a slow start Saturday afternoon, falling behind early 7-3 before rallying back with an 8-0 run to take an 11-7 lead.

The two teams went back and forth throughout the first quarter of play, with the Lady Statesmen getting the upper hand with a pair of late baskets to hold a 16-15 advantage after the first 10 minutes of play.

Vincennes would look to again get control of the game early in the second quarter, opening the second period of play by outscoring Lincoln Trail 9-2 to take a 24-18 lead.

Lincoln Trail then answered back with a series of three-point shots to regain the lead midway through the quarter.

VU would regain composure and close out the first half strong, holding a narrow 37-35 lead as the teams headed into the locker rooms for the halftime break.

The Lady Blazers looked to take their game into overdrive early in the third quarter, opening the second half with a 14-0 scoring run to increase their lead to 51-37.

Lincoln Trail would try to answer back again and were able to cut the deficit down to seven before VU closed out the third quarter strong to head into the fourth quarter holding a 57-49 lead.

Vincennes would get their lead back to double digits early in the fourth quarter, building a 65-53 advantage before the Lady Statesmen answered with seven straight to cut the VU lead down to five.

This would be as close as the Lady Statesmen would get however as the Lady Blazers were able to close out the game and pick up the 80-69 victory over Lincoln Trail College.

"It was a rough one," VU Interim Head Coach Ingrida Hartsfield said. "I'm just glad that the five that I played stuck it out to the end. They played defense and somewhat played offense. It was a rough game but a win is a win and we've just got to keep moving forward."

The Lady Blazers were led offensively by freshman Ahmya Thomas (Phoenix, Ariz.) who finished with a career-high 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the game.

Freshman Emani Washington (Indianapolis, Ind.) also surpassed 20 points in the game, finishing her night with 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Freshman Jazmyn Robey (Sellersburg, Ind.) returned to the VU starting lineup Saturday afternoon and came away with 12 points and seven rebounds for Vincennes.

The Lady Blazers were once again playing with only seven active players, with VU Interim Head Coach Ingrida Hartsfield opting to play just five players for the entire second half.

"Ahmya is just such a huge asset to the team on both the defensive and offensive ends of the floor," Hartsfield added. "She has been struggling these last few games but I think today she always played hard, which you can always count on her to do."

"Emani has gotten so much more aggressive and we are starting to be able to depend more on her and know that she will deliver on the offensive end," Hartsfield said. "Jazmyn definitely played a big part in the win just because we only played five people in the second half. I'm just pleased that that group was able to stick it out."

The Lady Trailblazers will return home Tuesday, Dec. 17 when VU closes out the 2024 portion of their schedule with a tough matchup against NJCAA Division II No. 24 Jefferson College from Hillsboro, Mo. This game is set to tip-off at 5 p.m. eastern.

VU will then return to the P.E. Complex floor after the Holiday break on Saturday, Jan. 4 when VU hosts Volunteer State Community College from Gallatin, Tenn. This game is also set to tip-off at 5 p.m. eastern.

"Jefferson will be a tough game," Hartsfield added. "They always are. They play aggressively and are well-coached. So I hope we can just keep our aggressiveness towards the basket going and hopefully be able to bring our bigs back into the game and use them more than we could tonight. Just playing together, playing hard and just seeing what happens."

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (80): Ahmya Thomas 9-18 10-15 29, Jazmyn Robey 4-11 4-4 12, Yanni Huggins 4-8 0-0 8, Emani Washington 8-15 4-4 21, Delora Pricop 1-3 0-0 2, Iris Comesana 1-1 0-0 2, Marta Gutierrez 2-6 1-2 6, Team 29-62 19-25 80.

Lincoln Trail – 16   19   14   20 – 69

VU (6-7, 2-0) – 15   22   20   23 – 80

Three-point goals: VU 3 (Thomas, Washington, Gutierrez). Rebounds: VU 43 (Thomas 8, Huggins 8). Assists: VU 19 (Thomas 7). Steals: VU 8 (Thomas 2, Washington 2, Gutierrez 2). Blocked Shots: VU 5 (Thomas 3). Turnovers: VU 21. Personal Fouls: VU 11. Fouled out: None. Technical Fouls: Thomas (4th – 7:09).