INA, Ill. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers opened up Region 24 play Wednesday night on the road against Rend Lake College in Ina, Ill.

The Blazers fell behind early but were able to take the lead back for good with a big second quarter scoring run to pick up the 78-61 victory over the Lady Warriors.

Vincennes got off to a very slow start at Rend Lake, with the Lady Warriors scoring the first nine points of the game and quickly building a 12-2 lead.

VU would answer back with a 10-0 scoring run to even the score at 12-12 before Rend Lake hit a three before the buzzer to end the first quarter holding a 15-12 lead over the Trailblazers.

Vincennes looked to take control of the game to begin the second quarter, hitting three straight threes to use a 9-0 run to take a 21-15 lead.

The Lady Blazers would keep adding on, using some strong defensive pressure to outscore the Lady Warriors 17-1 and take a 40-21 lead.

Rend Lake would look to cut into the VU lead before halftime however, scoring the final even points of the opening half of play to cut the deficit to 44-31 at the break.

The Lady Warriors would look to continue this momentum into the second half, cutting the VU lead down to five points at 48-43 where it would hold for the rest of the third quarter.

Vincennes was left holding a 55-50 advantage over Rend Lake College heading into the final 10 minutes of action.

Rend Lake would continue to cut into the VU lead down to just three early in the fourth quarter at 58-55 before the Lady Blazers would take control of the game back by outscoring the Lady Warriors 17-2 to take a 75-57 lead.

The Lady Blazers would keep this lead and run the clock out as Vincennes finished off a 78-61 victory over Rend Lake to pick up the win in the Region 24 opener.

Vincennes was led offensively by a big double-double by freshman Taylor Guess (Indianapolis, Ind.) who came off the bench to pick up her first collegiate double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Freshman Destinee Hooks (Indianapolis, Ind.) finished off her night with 14 points and a team-high four steals, while freshman Makyla Tucker (Indianapolis, Ind.) came away with 14 points, three rebounds and three steals off the bench.

Freshman Karina Scott (Noblesville, Ind.) was the fourth VU scorer in double-figures Wednesday night ending with 12 points on four made three-pointers, while dishing out a team-high four assists.

Sophomore Johnai Wimbleduff (Indianapolis, Ind.) came off the bench to add eight points and five rebounds and sophomore Katrina Litte (Valmiera, Latvia) ended with six points on two made threes and dishing out four assists.

The Lady Trailblazers will look to keep this momentum going into the weekend when VU heads to Shawnee Community College in Ullin, Ill. Saturday, Dec. 16 for the first Region 24 basketball doubleheader of the season. Tip-off time for the Lady Blazers is set for 2 p.m. eastern.

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (78): Destinee Hooks 6-15 1-2 14, Karina Scott 4-14 0-0 12, Katrina Litte 2-2 0-0 6, Brie Miller 2-6 0-1 4, Elikya Baseyila 0-3 2-4 2, Makyla Tucker 6-13 1-2 14, Najra Voloder 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Guess 6-11 4-5 16, Johnai Wimbleduff 4-5 0-0 8, Maycee Lange 1-7 0-0 2, Team 31-76 8-14 78.

VU (5-7, 1-0) – 12   32   11   23 – 78

Rend Lake – 15   16   19   11 – 61

Three-point goals: VU 8 (Scott 4, Litte 2, Hooks, Tucker). Rebounds: VU 41 (Guess 13). Assists: VU 16 (Scott 4, Litte 4). Steals: VU 13 (Hooks 4). Blocked Shots: VU 5 (Hooks 2, Scott 2). Turnovers: VU 14. Personal Fouls: VU 22. Fouled out: Wimbleduff.