Lady Blazers drop regular season finale to No. 5 Wabash Valley College

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers closed out their 2024-25 regular season Saturday night with another Region 24 showdown with No. 5 ranked Wabash Valley College from Mt. Carmel, Ill.

The Lady Blazers battled all night against the highly rated Lady Warriors but were unable to overcome an early deficit as VU fell by the final score 87-67.

Vincennes had to play from behind early as Wabash Valley came out of the gates firing by scoring the first seven points and quickly building a 15-5 lead.

The Lady Blazers were able to battle back and close out the first quarter strong, cutting the Lady Warrior lead to 21-13 after the first 10 minutes of play.

Wabash Valley continued to add pressure to the Lady Blazers in the second quarter, opening the second period on a 20-8 run and taking a 44-26 lead into the halftime break.

The Lady Blazers fought back early in the second half, using a 10-2 run to cut the WVC lead down to 48-36, before Wabash Valley responded with a 19-2 run of their own.

VU responded back before the end of the third quarter, finishing a high-scoring period on a 7-1 run and building momentum going into the fourth quarter.

Wabash Valley looked to be in cruise control early in the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run giving them an 82-50 lead but the Lady Blazers were not going to go away quietly.

VU continued to battle all the way to the final horn, using a 15-3 scoring run to cut the deficit back to 20 but unfortunately ran out of time to complete the big fourth quarter comeback as Wabash Valley closed out the game 87-67.

The Lady Trailblazers were led offensively by a monster game by freshman Delora Pricop (Satu Mare, Romania) who secured her 15th double-double of the season with 21 points and a season-high 21 rebounds.

Sophomore Marta Gutierrez (Alicante, Spain) put on a show for the home crowd on Sophomore Night inside the P.E. Complex, finishing her night with 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Freshman Emani Washington (Indianapolis, Ind.) was the third VU double-figures scorer Saturday night, finishing with 19 points, six rebounds and three assists.

The Lady Trailblazers will begin postseason play Sunday, March 9 inside the Physical Education Complex as VU hosts the Quarterfinals of the 2025 NJCAA Division I Region 24 Tournament.

Tip-off time for this game will be 3 p.m. eastern, with VU's opponent still to be determined.

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (67): Delora Pricop 8-20 4-4 21, Ahmya Thomas 1-13 1-2 3, Jazmyn Robey 2-7 0-0 4, Marta Gutierrez 6-13 4-6 19, Emani Washington 8-11 0-0 19, Iris Comesana 0-0 0-0 0, Netala Dixon 0-6 1-2 1, Team 25-70 10-14 67.

Wabash Valley – 21   23   29   14 – 87

VU (16-14, 10-4) – 13   13   20   21 – 67

Three-point goals: VU 7 (Gutierrez 3, Washington 3, Pricop). Rebounds: VU 44 (Pricop 21). Assists: VU 20 (Thomas 7, Gutierrez 7). Steals: VU 7 (Thomas 4). Blocked Shots: VU 2 (Pricop 2). Turnovers: VU 24. Personal Fouls: VU 18. Fouled out: None.