CENTRALIA, Ill. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers began their Region 24 schedule on the road Tuesday night against Kaskaskia College.
The Lady Blazers pulled away in the second half to pick up the big 102-58 win over the Blue Angels, behind a dominating 18-point, 18-rebound game from freshman Elikya Baseyila (Paris, France).
Vincennes set the tone early against the Blue Angels, scoring 13 of the first 15 points of the game.
Kaskaskia rallied back to end the opening quarter of the game, cutting the VU lead to five after the first 10 minutes of action.
Blazers continued to add to their lead in the second quarter, growing their advantage to 12 points at the break with a score of 45-33.
Coming out of the locker room was when the Lady Blazers really put some distance between them and Kaskaskia, using a 16-0 run in the third period to extend their lead.
VU outscored the Blue Angels 24-7 in the third quarter of play as the Blazers entered the fourth quarter looking to wrap up their first Region win of the season.
Vincennes continued to put the pressure on the Blue Angels, finishing the game with 12 steals as VU capped of their seventh win of the season, fourth win in a row and first win in Region 24 play by the final score of 102-58.
"We've been working on doing things correctly and this was the first time all year I thought we came out on the floor and did a really good job of executing what we've been working on," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Harry Meeks said. "Everybody got into the game. Everybody played meaningful minutes. They deserve to win this one and I'm really pleased with how well we played together."
The Trailblazers were led offensively by Elikya Baseyila who came on strong in the second half on her way another double-double with 18 points and 18 rebounds.
Freshman Maycee Lange (Vincennes, Ind.) got the VU scoring started early, scoring 13 of her 17 points in the first half. Lange would also end the game with six rebounds and a pair of steals.
Sophomore Cherrelle Newsom (Indianapolis, Ind.) connected on a trio of three-point shots on her way to 17 points and four assists.
Freshmen Nyre Williams (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Najra Voloder (Konjic, Bosnia) each came off the bench to add 12 points, with Voloder just missing a double-double with nine rebounds and Williams grabbing three boards.
Sophomore Chanice Willis (Champaign, Ill.) finished her night with 10 points, six rebounds and a team-high five steals.
"I liked how all of our girls played," Meeks added. "They had tremendous games. We've had a couple of games recently where I thought we didn't play as well as we should have. I thought the effort wasn't there when we started. We've talked about it. We've worked on it. If we are going to come out and beat good teams, we have to come out and play in the first quarter. You aren't going to be able to comeback from down 14 or 15 against good teams. Especially the teams that we've played. I'm expecting us to play well and I'm not surprised by the play of any of these girls."
"I think Elikya is really going to be a factor as we move on into the season," Meeks said. "She's a tremendous young lady with a super personality, as well as a great rebounder. I knew that Maycee would spring back from a bad shooting weekend. She was more frustrated in herself than the basketball team was. Our entire team knows how she can play and they were really enthused by how she played tonight. Maycee is a really good basketball player and she's just starting to show it."
The Lady Blazers will hit the road again next week when VU travels to Poplar Bluff, Mo. for a rematch against Three Rivers College, Tuesday, Nov. 29.
The Raiders defeated VU earlier this season 70-53. Tip-off time in Missouri is set for 7 p.m. eastern.
"I'm looking forward to going to Three Rivers," Meeks added. "When we played them at home, I really thought we had an opportunity to win that game. We missed several layups and I think we've fixed that by moving our post players out a little more. I think that will be a big factor."
"We are going to have to go over there, play and finish the game, just like any other game," Meeks said. "I'm really looking forward to playing them again. I like playing good competition. Three Rivers is definitely good competition."
VINCENNES BOX SCORE
VINCENNES (102): Cherrelle Newsom 7-10 0-0 17, Chanice Willis 4-14 2-2 10, Brie Miller 0-3 0-0 0, Elikya Baseyila 7-12 4-5 18, Maycee Lange 6-11 4-4 17, Kennadi Harris 3-8 0-0 6, Daylynn Thornton 3-9 0-0 6, Nyre Williams 6-9 0-0 12, Katrina Litte 1-4 2-2 4, Ra'Mya Milton 0-3 0-0 0, Najra Voloder 5-7 2-2 12, Team 42-90 14-15 102.
VU (7-2, 1-0) – 20 25 24 33 – 102
Kaskaskia – 15 18 7 18 – 58
Three-point goals: VU 4 (Newsom 3, Lange). Rebounds: VU 57 (Baseyila 18). Assists: VU 17 (Newsom 4). Steals: VU 12 (Willis 5). Blocked shots: VU 6 (Baseyila, Lange, Harris, Thornton, Williams, Voloder). Turnovers: VU 15. Personal Fouls: VU 20. Fouled out: None.