MATTOON, Ill. – The No. 2 seed Vincennes University Trailblazers advanced to the 2024 NJCAA Division I Region 24 Championship game Tuesday night by defeating No. 3 seed Southwestern Illinois College 87-76.
The Lady Blazers came out of the gates firing, hitting nine three-pointers in the first quarter to help secure their spot in Thursday night's Region 24 Championship game.
The victory Tuesday night was also significant for VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Harry Meeks who claimed his 750th career victory as head coach of the Lady Blazers.
Vincennes got off the bus shooting from three it seemed like Tuesday night, wasting little time to jump out to a 14-4 lead.
The lead continued to grow throughout the first quarter thanks to nine three-point makes by the Lady Trailblazers, including one from sophomore center Elikya Baseyila (Paris, France) as VU ended the first 10 minutes of play with a commanding 35-14 advantage over the Lady Blue Storm.
The scoring became less one sided in the second quarter as the two teams began trading baskets and allowed the Blazers to only increase their lead by one at halftime as VU headed into the break ahead 56-34.
Vincennes looked to be in complete control to start the second half, but slowly the Lady Blue Storm began to chip away at the big margin.
Momentum appeared to shift over to the Southwestern Illinois bench late in the third quarter with six unanswered points for the Lady Blue Storm cut the VU lead to 15 at 67-52.
Vincennes would get the lead back up to 18 before the end of the quarter heading into the final 10 minutes of action leading 72-54.
Early in the fourth quarter SWIC gave their best run of the night, cutting the VU lead down to 13 midway through the quarter before getting the lead down to single digits late at 82-74.
Vincennes would right the ship however and close out the game at the free throw line as the Lady Blazers survive the late comeback attempt and pick up the 87-76 victory.
VU was led by freshman Destinee Hooks (Indianapolis, Ind.) who had another outstanding scoring game, finishing with a game-high 33 points and five rebounds on the night.
Elikya Baseyila also scored in double-figures, finishing her night with 11 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Sophomore Katrina Litte (Valmiera, Latvia) got in on the early three-point action, hitting three first quarter threes on her way to 11 points and two assists in the game.
Freshmen Karina Scott (Noblesville, Ind.) and Makyla Tucker (Indianapolis, Ind.) each scored eight points for the Lady Blazers, with Scott adding a team-high three steals on the defensive end.
Sophomore Brie Miller (Bainbridge, Ind.) continues to play tough down in the paint, leading VU with seven rebounds on the night to go along with five points.
The Lady Trailblazers advance to the 2024 NJCAA Region 24 Championship game Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. eastern at Lake Land College in Mattoon, Ill. The winner of Thursday night's game will clinch an automatic bid to the 2024 NJCAA Division I National Championship tournament in Casper, Wyo.
VU will take on No. 1 seed and No. 2-ranked Wabash Valley College who defeated No. 5 seed Olney Central College in the first semifinal of the day 84-54.
VINCENNES BOX SCORE
VINCENNES (87): Destinee Hooks 8-20 13-21 33, Karina Scott 3-11 1-2 8, Katrina Litte 3-8 2-2 11, Brie Miller 2-4 1-1 5, Elikya Baseyila 2-5 6-10 11, Giavonnie Belton 3-9 0-2 7, Makyla Tucker 2-5 2-2 8, Najra Voloder 1-4 0-0 2, Maycee Lange 1-6 0-0 2, Team 25-72 25-40 87.
Southwestern Illinois – 14 20 20 22 – 76
VU (19-10, 14-2) – 35 21 16 15 – 87
Three-point goals: VU 12 (Hooks 4, Litte 3, Tucker 2, Scott, Baseyila, Belton). Rebounds: VU 34 (Miller 7). Assists: VU 14 (Hooks 2, Scott 2, Litte 2, Baseyila 2, Tucker 2). Steals: VU 9 (Scott 3). Blocked Shots: VU 5 (Baseyila 2). Turnovers: VU 9. Personal Fouls: VU 25. Fouled out: None. Technical Fouls: Belton (3 – 2:21).