Lady Blazers hot start gives Vincennes road Region win at Southwestern Illinois

BELLEVILLE, Ill. – The Vincennes University Lady Blazers increased their Region 24 winning streak to five Monday night with a big 67-56 win at Southwestern Illinois.

Vincennes got off to a hot start, leading by 12 after the first quarter before coming away with the 11-point victory over the Lady Blue Storm.

The Lady Blazers got off to a quick start on the road Monday night, opening the contest on a 12-3 scoring run.

SWIC was able to cut into the deficit, cutting the VU lead down to just four, before VU answered back to take a 23-11 lead after the first 10 minutes of play after a buzzer beater three by sophomore Cherrelle Newsom (Indianapolis, Ind.).

VU continued to hold serve in the second quarter before a late 7-0 scoring run put the Lady Blue Storm within four.

Vincennes would get a basket before the halftime break to head into the locker room holding a 36-30 advantage.

The Lady Blazers opened the second half with a 7-0 scoring run of their own. This momentum wouldn't hold however as SWIC closed out the third period outscoring VU 11-5 to cut the VU lead to seven heading into the fourth quarter.

Southwestern continued to close the margin to start the fourth quarter, coming within three points of the Lady Blazers before VU would respond with a 7-0 run to lead 56-46.

SWIC would again attempt a late comeback, cutting the lead to four. Vincennes answered the call again to close out the game on another 7-0 scoring run to close out the 67-56 win over the Lady Blue Storm.

The Lady Blazers were led offensively by Cherrelle Newsom who finished with 17 points, including five made three-pointers, giving her 16 in VU's last three games. Newsom also dished out three assists.

Sophomore Chanice Willis (Champaign, Ill.) came off the bench to add 14 points, a team-high three steals and a pair of rebounds and assists.

Freshman Elikya Baseyila (Paris, France) just missed a double-double, finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds, while controlling the paint defensively with five blocks on the night.

The Lady Blazers will return home to the P.E. Complex Wednesday, Jan. 18 when VU hosts No. 14-ranked Wabash Valley College in a Region 24 doubleheader. The VU Lady Blazers will tip-off the action against the Lady Warriors at 5 p.m. eastern.

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (67): Kennadi Harris 3-7 2-2 9, Cherrelle Newsom 6-11 0-0 17, Daylynn Thornton 3-8 0-0 8, Elikya Baseyila 3-7 5-6 11, Maycee Lange 3-8 0-0 6, Chanice Willis 4-7 6-8 14, Nyre Williams 0-3 0-0 0, Najra Voloder 1-2 0-0 2, Brie Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Team 23-53 13-16 67.

VU (13-7, 6-1) – 23   13   12   19 – 67

Southwestern Illinois – 11   19   11   15 – 56

Three-point goals: VU 8 (Newsom 5, Thornton 2, Harris). Rebounds: VU 33 (Baseyila 9). Assists: VU 14 (Harris 4). Steals: VU 11 (Thornton 3, Willis 3). Blocked Shots: VU 8 (Baseyila 5). Turnovers: VU 21. Personal Fouls: VU 20. Fouled out: Baseyila.