Lady Blazers look strong in wire-to-wire home win over Olney Central

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers got their revenge after a December loss to the Lady Blue Knights in Olney by picking up a very strong 87-55 win over Olney Central Saturday night.

The Lady Blazers wasted little time setting the tone against Olney Central, scoring the first eight points of the game and jumping out to a 14-3 lead.

OCC picked things up offensively and answered back with a 7-0 scoring run of their own to cut the VU lead down to four.

This would be the closest Olney Central would get for the rest of the game however as VU built a 13-point lead with an 11-2 scoring run late in the first quarter and grabbed a 28-18 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.

The second quarter was a more defensive battle, with neither team able to get much momentum scoring the ball.

The Lady Blazers held strong and headed into the locker room with a 40-28 halftime advantage over Olney Central.

Vincennes came out of the locker room swinging and quickly grabbed all of the momentum with a 12-0 run early in the third quarter.

VU kept their foot on the gas throughout the third quarter, taking a 65-46 lead into the final period.

The Lady Blazers looked to put the game away early in the fourth quarter and picked up their game defensively.

VU kept building on their lead with steals and transition layups as Vincennes cruised late to an 87-55 win over the Lady Blue Knights.

"We remembered the game over in Olney," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Harry Meeks said. "We kept talking about it and going back and watching the game film. We know that they had a lot to do with us not winning last time in Olney, but we know that we also had a lot to do with it. We have worked really hard at cutting down on some of our errors. Right now I think we are starting to run our offenses and plays better. We are getting more production out of people."

"I just think the team wanted to win tonight," Meeks added. "I think the girls played really hard. We pushed the ball and scored a lot of points and we definitely have a happy locker room tonight."

The Lady Blazers were led offensively by sophomore Cherrelle Newsom (Indianapolis, Ind.) who started out hot from behind the arc with three first quarter three's and ended the way she started with three more in the fourth quarter.

Newsom ended with 22 points off of her six three-point makes and a team-high seven assists.

Freshman Elikya Baseyila (Paris, France) continues to be an imposing threat in the low block, ending her night with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Sophomore Daylynn Thornton (Lafayette, Ind.) helped get the VU offense going early, getting 10 of her 14 points in the first half. Thornton also finished with four assists and a pair of rebounds.

Sophomore Chanice Willis (Champaign, Ill.) came off the bench to reach double-figures, ending with 14 points, a team-high six steals, four rebounds and three assists.

Freshman Maycee Lange (Vincennes, Ind.) looked to get back on track offensively Saturday, nearly coming away with a double-double as Lange finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists and a team-high four blocks.

Freshman Brie Miller (Greencastle, Ind.) controlled the boards all game long as she finished with a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with four points and a pair of assists.

"We have really been working on blocking out and rebounding the ball," Meeks said. " We have really stressed only giving up one shot per possession. I think we played together really well tonight as a team."

"Cherrelle was awesome," Meeks added. "She put the ball in the hoop. She did everything that I ask her to do. She ran the team. She shot the ball when we got her into positions to shoot the ball. She really did a good job in the first half of setting the tone for us and I was really glad to see that. She's a great kid and a really nice young lady who brings everything she has every day and that carries over to the rest of the team."

"I was really happy to see Maycee have a good night," Meeks said. "Maycee did a lot of things for us and was a leader on the floor. Elikya came in and was really dominant in the paint. You get her the ball and she will score or go to the free throw line."

"You know Daylynn is going to give you everything she has out there on the floor," Meeks added. "Probably more than she has. She is tenacious. Everybody knows if you want to find Brie just go to the weight room. She has a really good attitude, works hard, rebounds every game. She plays extremely hard and is a very physical player."

"Chanice has got to use her court speed," Meeks said. "I told her at halftime that she needs to get the ball in the open court. That's where she helps us the most. Tonight we were able to do that. We were able to hit her on a couple of outlet passes and I thought she really played well in the second half. Again, congratulations to the whole squad. This is a good win for us and it's a good redemption win."

The Lady Blazers will look to continue their winning ways next week when VU hits the road and travels to Ullin, Ill. Wednesday, Feb. 1 to take on Shawnee Community College at 6 p.m. eastern.

The Lady Blazers defeated the Lady Saints earlier this season at the Physical Education Complex 73-68 behind 20 points by Daylynn Thornton.

"We've already started working on Shawnee," Meeks said. "We have been looking at some of the games they have played recently. They are a good, physical basketball team. Their coach does a really good job with them. They are a force to deal with. When you go down there and play on their home floor it's a tough night."

"I look forward to seeing what our girls can do next week," Meeks added. "I think we are playing pretty well right now and Wednesday will be a good marker to figure out where we are at this point in the season. I'm looking forward to the competition and I'm sure it will be a tough game. Shawnee has always been a difficult place for us to play. I don't know if it's the bus ride or what, but we've got our work cut out for us Wednesday."

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (87): Brie Miller 2-3 0-0 4, Maycee Lange 3-6 4-5 11, Elikya Baseyila 7-13 1-1 15, Cherrelle Newsom 6-13 4-4 22, Daylynn Thornton 6-11 2-2 14, Chanice Willis 6-11 2-2 14, Elena Tzelou 0-0 0-0 0, Nyre Williams 2-6 0-0 4, Ra'Mya Milton 1-2 1-2 3, Team 33-65 14-16 87.

Olney Central – 18   10   18   9 – 55

VU (15-8, 8-2) – 28   12   25   22 – 87

Three-point goals: VU 7 (Newsom 6, Lange). Rebounds: VU 39 (Miller 11). Assists: VU 21 (Newsom 7). Steals: VU 15 (Willis 6). Blocked Shots: VU 5 (Lange 4). Turnovers: VU 16. Personal Fouls: VU 23. Fouled out: Lange.