MT. CARMEL, Ill. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers closed out the 2022-23 regular season Saturday afternoon with a short trip to No. 12-ranked Wabash Valley.
Vincennes ends the regular season with a record of 19-10 after falling to the Lady Warriors 107-60.
The Lady Warriors wasted little time setting the tone on their home floor, scoring 21 of the first 23 points of the game and going on to hold a 26-5 lead after the first quarter.
VU would look to bounce back in the second quarter but were unable to control the Lady Warrior offense as Wabash Valley put up 30 points in the second quarter to take a 56-18 lead into the halftime break.
The Lady Blazers deficit continued to grow in the second half with an 11-0 scoring run midway through the third quarter before VU sophomore guard Daylynn Thornton (Lafayette, Ind.) looked to put the team on her back.
Thornton would score all 12 of her points in the third quarter alone and score 12 of VU's 16 points in the quarter as VU ended the period on a 9-2 scoring run and head into the fourth quarter of play trailing 80-34.
Sophomore Cherrelle Newsom (Indianapolis, Ind.) then took over in the fourth quarter to try and cut into the large Wabash Valley lead, with 15 points in the fourth quarter, including four of her six three-point makes.
But it wasn't enough as Wabash Valley came away with the 107-60 victory over the Lady Trailblazers.
VU was led offensively by Cherrelle Newsom who tied her career-high with six made three-point baskets on her way to 25 points and a team-high four assists and two steals.
Daylynn Thornton ended her night with 12 points, five rebounds and two assists and freshman Elikya Baseyila (Paris, France) finished the game with five points and eight rebounds.
The Lady Trailblazers will now look to begin their postseason run Sunday, March 5 when VU travels to the NJCAA Midwest District/Region 24 Championship tournament hosted by Lake Land College in Mattoon, Ill.
Vincennes will be the No. 2 seed in the tournament after posting a 12-4 record in Region 24 play. The Lady Trailblazers' game time and opponent have not yet been decided.
VINCENNES BOX SCORE
VINCENNES (60) – Kennadi Harris 1-8 1-2 3, Cherrelle Newsom 6-17 7-8 25, Daylynn Thornton 5-8 1-1 12, Elikya Baseyila 2-2 1-2 5, Maycee Lange 2-10 0-0 4, Katrina Litte 1-5 0-0 2, Ra'Mya Milton 2-2 1-1 5 Brie Miller 2-5 0-0 4, Team 21-57 11-14 60.
VU (19-10, 12-4) – 5 13 16 26 – 60
Wabash Valley – 26 30 24 27 – 107
Three-point goals: VU 7 (Newsom 6, Thornton). Rebounds: VU 29 (Baseyila 8). Assists: VU 13 (Newsom 4). Steals: VU 7 (Newsom 2). Blocked Shots: VU 1 (Baseyila). Turnovers: VU 28. Personal Fouls: VU 23. Fouled out: Harris, Thornton.