Defense leads Lady Blazers to big win over Kaskaskia College

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers bounced back in a big way Tuesday evening as they got back into the win column over Kaskaskia College 70-36 inside the Physical Education Complex.

The Lady Blazer defense ran the show for Vincennes all night, forcing 30 Blue Angel turnovers as the short-handed Lady Blazers picked up their third win of the season.

Vincennes got the game started with a bang, after the Blue Angels scored the first basket of the night, VU responded back by scoring 11 straight to take an early 11-3 lead.

VU would continue to grow the lead through the end of the first quarter, closing out the first 10 minutes of action by outscoring Kaskaskia 7-2 to take an 18-9 lead after the first period.

The Lady Blazers kept the defensive pressure going in the second quarter, holding the Blue Angels scoreless for most of the second period while using an 11-0 scoring run to increase their lead to 29-9.

Vincennes held strong to close out the first half of play, heading into the locker room at the break holding a big 37-15 lead over Kaskaskia.

Kaskaskia was able to get some shots to drop early in the third quarter, cutting the Vincennes lead down to 40-23 before the Lady Blazers used a 7-0 scoring run to take a 57-31 lead into the fourth quarter.

Vincennes was able to regain composure on the defensive end of the floor in the fourth quarter, holding the Blue Angels to just five points in the final 10 minutes as Vincennes capitalized on another 11-0 scoring run to close out a big 70-36 victory over Kaskaskia.

"As far as defense goes, we stuck with our zone defense most of the game," VU Interim Head Coach Ingrida Hartsfield said. "We switched it up a little bit between a 2-3 or a 1-2-2. We really were just working on defense and really preparing for Saturday. But I do believe tonight was more about defensive play than offensive play."

The Lady Blazers were led offensively by an outstanding game off the bench from freshman Emani Washington (Indianapolis, Ind.) who finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Freshman Delora Pricop (Brasov, Romania) finished her night with 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while fellow freshman Ahmya Thomas (Phoenix, Ariz.) again filled the box score with 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Freshman Iris Varela (Augusti, Spain) was the fourth VU scorer in double figures Tuesday night, just missing out on a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Sophomore Marta Chico (Chabas, Spain) also had a good all-around game for the Lady Blazers, finishing her night with nine points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

"I was very pleased with Emani, since Netala went out she stepped in and was able to still do her job and compete," Hartsfield added. "She showed great numbers tonight. I was very glad about Iris tonight. It was just her third game and she's coming around. Delora has been in double figures the last three games, so I've also very pleased with her performance. And then Ahmya, she's just our energy bunny out there. She gets the defense going, gets the steals and helps keep us going."

The Lady Blazers will face their toughest test yet this season in their next game when Vincennes heads to Poplar Bluff, Mo. Saturday, Nov. 23 to face off against No. 7 ranked Three Rivers Community College.

Tip-off time for your Lady Trailblazers Saturday will be 4 p.m. eastern.

"I told the team that tonight is a good game to prepare for what's coming up Saturday," Hartsfield. "Just looking to work on the things that we are lacking. Work on boxing out, work on rebounding and work on defense. The things that will help us get ready for Saturday. Of course, all of that plus executing the offense will be big for us. You just never know, we're taking it one day at a time and one game at a time. I do believe that if we limit our turnovers and execute the game plan and play defense, we can do anything. I believe in the girls and I believe that they have heart, it will just all come down to execution Saturday."

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (70): Iris Varela 6-10 0-1 12, Delora Pricop 6-13 4-7 16, Ahmya Thomas 4-12 6-8 14, Marta Chico 4-11 1-1 9, Netala Dixon 0-1 0-0 0, Yanni Huggins 1-4 0-6 2, Emani Washington 7-17 2-3 17, Team 28-68 13-26 70.

Kaskaskia – 9   6   16   5 – 36

VU (3-4) – 18   19   20   13 – 70

Three-point goals: VU 1 (Washington). Rebounds: VU 40 (Varela 9). Assists: VU 17 (Thomas 4, Chico 4, Washington 4). Steals: VU 15 (Thomas 4). Blocked Shots: VU 5 (Pricop 2). Turnovers: VU 18. Personal Fouls: VU 14. Fouled out: Pricop.