Lady Blazers fall in season opener at Moberly Area Classic

MOBERLY, Mo. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers opened their season Friday afternoon at the 2024 Orscheln Classic hosted by Moberly Area Community College in Missouri.

The Lady Blazers opened their season against Mineral Area College and came out on the wrong end of an 87-69 final score to the Lady Cardinals.

Vincennes got the season off to an excellent start, opening the game and quickly building an 8-3 lead in the first quarter.

Mineral Area battled back and closed out the quarter on an 11-2 run to take an 18-13 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.

The Lady Cardinal lead continued to grow in the second quarter, getting the lead to double digits at 29-19 before closing out the first half of action with eight straight points, giving Mineral Area a 43-28 lead going into the halftime break.

The Lady Blazers battled into the second half but were unable to get the lead back to single digits, with Mineral Area leading 69-53 heading into the fourth quarter of play.

Vincennes would gain some momentum early in the fourth quarter, opening the final period of play with an 8-3 run to cut the deficit to 11 before the Lady Cardinals swung the momentum back with a 9-2 scoring run of their own.

The two teams traded baskets down the stretch with Mineral Area holding off the Lady Blazers and coming away with the 87-69 victory.

The Lady Blazers were led offensively by a big double-double by sophomore Kennedy Johnson-Corley (Clarksville, Tenn.) who led VU with 29 points and 11 rebounds in her Trailblazer debut, while also coming away with three steals and two blocks.

Freshman Netala Dixon (Dyersburg, Tenn.) had a good all-around game, finishing with 13 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

Freshman Ahmya Thomas (Phoenix, Ariz.) was the third Lady Trailblazer in double figures, coming off the bench to score 13 points, grab five rebounds and dish out three assists.

The Lady Trailblazers will regroup and look to get in the win column when they return to Moberly Area C.C. tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 2, for the final day of the Orscheln Classic.

Vincennes will close out their opening weekend slate against host Moberly Area Community College. Tip-off time is set for 6 p.m. eastern.

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (69): Marta Chico 0-1 0-0 0, Kiera Gant 2-6 1-2 6, Netala Dixon 5-15 3-7 13, Delora Pricop 2-5 0-0 4, Kennedy Johnson-Corley 10-19 8-11 29, Ahmya Thomas 5-11 2-5 13, Emani Washington 1-3 2-2 4, Team 25-60 16-27 69.

Mineral Area – 18   25   26   18 – 87

VU (0-1) – 13   15   25   16 – 69

Three-point goals: 3 (Gant, Johnson-Corley, Thomas). Rebounds: VU 30 (Johnson-Corley 11). Assists: VU 13 (Chico 3, Dixon 3, Thomas 3). Steals: VU 9 (Johnson-Corley 3). Blocked Shots: VU 4 (Dixon 2, Johnson-Corley 2). Turnovers: VU 19. Personal Fouls: VU 21. Fouled out: Pricop.