Lady Blazers drop hard fought rematch with Moberly Area C.C.

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers closed out the 2024 VU Lady Blazer Classic Saturday evening with a rematch against the Lady Greyhounds of Moberly Area Community College from Moberly, Mo.

Moberly Area came away with a 73-61 victory earlier this season in Moberly and were able to complete the season sweep as the Lady Blazers came out on the wrong side of a 76-71 final score.

The two teams came out firing in the opening quarter, trading basket after basket with the Lady Greyhounds holding a 28-21 lead after a high scoring opening 10 minutes.

Vincennes was able to bounce back and get the lead back in the second quarter after an 8-0 scoring run put the Lady Blazers on top 33-32.

Moberly Area regained the momentum and looked to be going into the locker room on a hot streak before the Lady Blazers scored the final six points of the first half to head into the halftime break tied at 44-44.

The second half was much more of a defensive battle with VU holding a 53-52 lead before Moberly Area closed out the third quarter on an 8-2 scoring run to take a 60-55 lead into the final quarter of action.

VU grabbed the early momentum in the fourth quarter, opening the final period by outscoring the Lady Greyhounds 8-2 to take a 63-62 lead.

Moberly Area was able to convert from three-point range down the stretch, as the Lady Trailblazers continued to battle but were unable to regain their lead as Moberly Area closed out the 76-71 victory.

"I do believe that we put in a good fight," Lady Blazers Interim Head Coach Ingrida Hartsfield said. "I think we fell a little short especially right at the end of the game. I think in the final two minutes we didn't get the rebounds that we needed and it just seemed like we just stopped playing for a second and that cost us."

The Lady Trailblazers were led offensively by freshman Delora Pricop (Brasov, Romania) who finished her night with a career-high 23 points, to go along with five rebounds and five big blocks.

Freshman Netala Dixon (Dyersburg, Tenn.) continued to attack the basket all game, finishing her night with 17 points, six assists and four rebounds.

Sophomore Marta Chico (Chabas, Spain) got the Lady Blazers offense going early and connected on four of four from three-point range to set a new season-high with 16 points and six rebounds.

Freshman Ahmya Thomas (Phoenix, Ariz.) entered the starting lineup for the first time this season and did not disappoint with another all-around game with 11 points, eight assists, six steals and five rebounds.

"Individually I think we did well on offense," Hartsfield added. "Of course we still need to work on some of the finishes and it's never going to be perfect but it starts with defense. You can't win the games if you don't play defense or box out and rebound."

The Lady Trailblazers will look to bounce back when they return to the Physical Education Complex floor Tuesday, Nov. 19 to take on Kaskaskia College at 5 p.m. eastern.

"We will watch the film from this weekend and hopefully learn from our mistakes," Hartsfield said. "I told them in the locker room that this one's done and you can't go back so we've just got to keep moving forward."

Other scores from the final day of the 2024 VU Lady Blazer Classic include No. 4 Wabash Valley College winning over NJCAA D-III No. 6 ranked Owens Community College 111-51.

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (71): Delora Pricop 8-16 7-9 23, Ahmya Thomas 3-11 5-6 11, Marta Chico 6-6 0-2 16, Yanni Huggins 0-0 0-0 0, Netala Dixon 8-16 0-2 17, Iris Valera 2-6 0-0 4, Emani Washington 0-2 0-0 0, Team 27-57 12-19 71.

Moberly Area – 28   16   16   16 – 76

VU (2-4) – 21   23   11   16 – 71

Three-point goals: VU 5 (Chico 4, Dixon). Rebounds: VU 30 (Chico 6). Assists: VU 22 (Thomas 8). Steals: VU 8 (Thomas 6). Blocked Shots: VU 5 (Pricop 5). Turnovers: VU 16. Personal Fouls: VU 15. Fouled out: None.