Mt. Carmel, Ill. – A fast start paid big dividends for the Wabash Valley Lady Warriors on Wednesday night.
After bolting to a 14-4 lead early against Region 24 arch-rival Vincennes, the Lady Warriors built a 22-point cushion in the second half before settling for a 93-79 victory in a battle of NJCAA Top 25 teams at Spencer Sports Center.
After a recent trend of sluggish starts, the lightning-fast beginning against VU was a welcomed relief for the 16th-ranked Warriors.
"We knew we had to come out and be very aggressive and not be how we were in the last game," said sophomore Je'Naiya Davis. "We had to learn from our mistakes from the last game."
The win was the seventh in a row by Wabash Valley, now 11-2. No. 21 Vincennes, which had its' seven-game win streak snapped, fell to 7-2 with the loss.
WVC led 24-11 at the end of the first period, and 46-29 by halftime. The outcome was never in doubt, though the Trailblazers did get within nine points late in the game.
Warrior coach Luke Scheidecker thought it was a "great team effort. We really came out of the gate and played well."
Davis ended up with a season-high 34 points to lead the Warriors. She was 9-of-14 from the field (2-of-3 coming at the arc line), and 14-of-16 at the foul line.
Even with those impressive numbers, there was still room for other superlatives from the Warrior camp. Leading scorer Jazmyn Turner turned her eighth double-double of the season, with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
Cierra Christian, a fast-improving 6-foot freshman forward, is the only other Warrior with a double. She has two now after a 14/14 split against VU. She was also 6-of-6 from the floor.
The Trailblazers were led by leading scorer Amani Brown, who finished the night with 21 points.
Wabash Valley will not return to Spencer Sports Center until Mar. 13, against Kaskaskia. In the meantime, the Warriors play at Shawnee on Saturday at 1 p.m.