First half scoring run propels Lady Blazers to road win at Lincoln Trail

ROBINSON, Ill. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers hit the road Saturday afternoon to face-off against nearby rival Lincoln Trail College.

The Lady Blazers used a 30-4 scoring run that ran from near the beginning of the first quarter and extending to midway through the second quarter to help give Vincennes the 76-58 road victory.

VU got off to a slow start, turning the ball over on four of their first five possessions, giving the Lady Statesmen a quick 4-0 advantage.

This is when the Lady Trailblazer defense really showed what they can do, outscoring Lincoln Trail 30-4 to take a 22-point lead midway through the second quarter.

The Lady Statesmen would bounce back and answer with five three-pointers and a 15-4 scoring run of their own to close out the first half at 34-23.

Freshman Chanice Willis (Champaign, Ill.) came off the bench in the first quarter and immediately had an impact on the game, with Willis scoring 12 points in the first half including eight in the first quarter.

Lincoln Trail continued to fight with Vincennes in the second half, but only managed to cut the deficit down to 10 points.

VU would open the fourth quarter with a 10-3 scoring run to give the Lady Trailblazers a 21-point lead midway through the final period.

Lincoln Trail would try to respond and rally on their home floor but the Lady Trailblazers came away with the 76-58 win over the Lady Statesmen.

"The big thing for us was we came out with some energy," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Harry Meeks said. "That is what helped us get the lead. We got a lot of people playing time, which also helped us. Several of our girls did really well rebounding and scoring the ball. This was a team effort."

"Lincoln Trail always plays us tough," Meeks added. "Every time we come across the river we are the game of the century for these Illinois teams. Nobody takes it easy on us."

Vincennes was led offensively by sophomore Laila Grant (Derwood, Md.) who finished with a team-high 19 points, 12 of which coming in the second half. Grant also led VU with seven assists, while also grabbing six rebounds.

Chanice Willis finished the game with a career-high 18 points, while also adding four rebounds and three assists.

Sophomore Macy Michels (Teutopolis, Ill.) recorded her fifth double-double of the season, ending her day with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Michels would also finish with three blocks on the game.

"I thought Laila had a tremendous game," Meeks said. "I thought Macy had a really great game. Those two led us in just about every category today. Chanice did a really good job for us coming off the bench. She is quick, can score around the basket and can steal the ball defensively. She is a really exciting player to watch and I think she did an exceptional job."

"Laila is really valuable to us," Meeks added. "She backs up the point guard and I know that I have two good ball-handlers out there when she's on the floor with Cherrelle Newsom (Indianapolis, Ind.). Both of them are terrific shooters and I'm glad to have them on our team. They made a major contribution to our team in this game. I thought Chanice did an excellent job of picking us up off the bench and bringing the energy back for us. I thought she had a really good game also."

The Lady Trailblazers will return home Wednesday, Feb. 2 when VU hosts Southwestern Illinois College at the P.E. Complex. Tip-off time for that game is set for 5 p.m. eastern.

"We are getting into our last seven or eight games of the season and we need to continue to make progress in every game," Meeks said. "Southwestern Illinois is going to play us tough. They played us tough when we went to Belleville, even though we were able to come away with a win and I don't expect anything different this time."

"They have historically had a really great program," Meeks added. "I just think we are going to have to play and play our best basketball and make the other team play to our strength with is speed and moving the ball up and down the floor at a tremendous rate."

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (76): DayLynn Thornton 1-4 0-0 2, Cherrelle Newsom 3-7 0-0 8, Elena Aznar 2-5 0-1 4, Macy Michels 5-8 4-4 14, Laila Grant 5-12 7-8 19, Trinitee Harris 2-5 2-2 6, Chanice Willis 7-11 3-4 18, Nina Blade 1-1 1-2 3, Guadalupe Lopez 1-3 0-0 2, Anete Bluma 0-2 0-0 0, Team 27-58 17-21 76.

VU (15-7, 8-2) – 19  15  25  17 – 76

Lincoln Trail – 8  15  23  12 – 58

Three-point goals: VU 5 (Newsom 2, Grant 2, Willis). Rebounds: VU 42 (Michels 13). Assists: VU 20 (Grant 7). Steals: VU 6 (Harris 2, Willis 2). Blocked shots: VU 4 (Michels 3). Turnovers: VU 16. Personal Fouls: VU 11. Fouled out: None. Technical Fouls: LTC Coach (3 – 6:15).