By Troy Guthrie, Sports Information Director
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November 28, 2008
3-pointers ignite Lady Trailblazers comeback over Olney Central
The Vincennes Lady Trailblazers not only came back from a halftime deficit again in defeating Olney Central Friday night in the third game of the opening night of the Sodexo Classic, but put 58 points on the scoreboard after the break to post a 79-60 victory.
With the help of a 3-pointer just before the horn, VU had trailed 30-21 at intermission and then went 10-for-14 from beyond the 3-point line while limiting the Lady Blue Knights to one shot per possession for much of the second half with 19 defensive rebounds.
The win, which featured a career-high 30 points from freshman Ashley Buis and 19 by freshman MyQueisha Bratton, followed an 85-57 win by Mineral Area over Malcolm X and Jefferson College’s 87-45 victory over Southeastern Illinois College. Megan Craft added 11 points and Katie Ahaus had nine.
The Lady Trailblazers appeared to be on the road to more cold shooting in the opening minutes of the second half. VU didn’t score until Buis hit two free throws a little over two-and-a-half minutes in. However Buis’ 3-pointer and an Ahaus layup cut the Olney Central lead to 6 at 34-28 about a minute after Buis had broken the ice.
Olney Central Coach Darleta Helm called a timeout to try to break VU’s momentum and the Lady Blue Knights’ Asree Hamilton did score when play resumed. At the other end, Bratton was called for a charging foul and Olney Central’s Jasmine Grubbs scored to stretch the advantage back to 10 for the visitors.
But VU refused to go away and Bratton’s trey at the 12:15 mark had the Lady Trailblazers back in it yet again at 40-36. Olney Central missed a shot from 3-point range and Bratton found Buis on the right wing for another bomb to close to within one and begin the Buis and Bratton barrage.
A Bratton trey put VU up 42-40, the Lady Trailblazers’ first lead of the night.
Just after the 9:00 mark, Bratton scored again to stake VU to a six-point advantage and VU built the lead to 10, 55-45, on Ahaus’ steal and bucket. By the time the game reached 4:30 left, the Lady Trailblazers had a 65-50 lead and Olney Central was mired in a scoring drought, which ended at about the 3:45 mark. But it was too late for the Lady Blue Knights by that time.
VU had ridden Buis and Bratton to a 23-point lead at 76-53 with 2:00 to go and cruised to the victory. Buis had 23 on eight field goals – including 3-of-6 3-pointers – and Bratton scored all 19 of her points in the second half. Craft scored eight after the break on two 3s and a regular field goal.
VU (5-4) will meet up with Jefferson College in the final game of Saturday’s second night of the Sodexo Classic. The Lady Vikings handled the visiting Lady Trailblazers easily 82-32 on November 11.
November 29, 2008
Lady Trailblazers put scare into nation’s top team
The Vincennes Lady Trailblazers are becoming experts at scaring the nation’s upper-echelon teams.
The latest scare was a close call for top-ranked Jefferson College Saturday night during VU’s Sodexo Classic at the VU P.E. Complex. The Lady Trailblazers were unable to hold onto a nine-point halftime lead and allowed the Lady Vikings to regain control on the way to a 103-92 JeffCo victory.
On November 21, the Lady Trailblazers nearly upset the defending NJCAAA National Champions before squandering a lead and losing by nine.
In Saturday’s game, Hope Elam paced VU with 33 points – 19 in the second half as the Lady Trailblazers tried to fend off JeffCo’s comeback – and Ashley Buis finished with 18. VU also got 12 from Megan Craft, 11 from MyQueisha Bratton and 10 from Katie Ahaus.
With injured NJCAA All-American Danielle Adams sitting out and fellow All-American LaToya Johnson off to a slow start, the Lady Vikings were led by Ashley Brown’s 24 points, while Johnson scored 20 of her 23 in the second half. ShaQuanda Wiggins also had 23, while Portia Porter scored 15.
VU locked up the Lady Vikings in a tight one until just before the 11:00 mark in the first half when Ahaus’ three-point play put VU up 18-17 and the Lady Trailblazers then forced JeffCo into a shot clock violation to get the ball back again and pull out to a lead.
Elam’s three-point play put VU up 33-27 with about three minutes remaining in the half and the Lady Trailblazers benefitted from the Lady Vikings’ Cherakie Barrett picking up a technical foul for reacting when she was whistled for fouling Buis. Elam sank two free throws and Buis hit one to provide a 36-27 VU advantage while JeffCo struggled to score. Porter ended the Lady Vikings’ scoring drought with a pair free throws with just over two minutes to go but Buis drilled a trey to give VU a 10-point lead at 39-29. VU went to the locker room with a 41-32 lead.
The Lady Trailblazers got off to a good start after intermission when Elam found Buis for another 3-pointer, but Brown and Johnson put JeffCo on their backs and got plenty of support from Wiggins down low. A Porter bucket capped a 25-17 JeffCo run that cut the VU lead to one at 58-57 with 13 minutes left. Johnson put the Lady Vikings ahead three-and-a-half minutes later at 69-68. VU was never able to catch up again.
VU (5-5) will face Mineral Area in the Sodexo Classic’s final game at 4 p.m. Sunday. Mineral Area defeated Southeastern Illinois College in a 105-59 rout earlier in the evening Saturday.
Lady Blazers close out Sodexo Classic with win
The Vincennes Lady Trailblazers let another halftime lead slip away Sunday against Mineral Area in the last game of the 2008 Sodexo Classic at the VU P.E. Complex. This time, however, VU weathered the storm and regained the lead before hitting late free throws to seal a 74-62 win.
The Lady Trailblazers had led No. 1 Jefferson College by nine in the second half Saturday night and failed to hold off the Lady Vikings, losing 103-92.
Hope Elam and Ashley Buis led VU with 17 points each Sunday. VU’s balanced scoring attack also included 15 from Megan Craft and 13 by MyQueisha Bratton. Gretchen Gaskin led the Lady Cardinals with a game-high 19 points.
VU shot 30-for-75, including 4-of-17 from beyond the arc, but made 10-of-12 from the line.
The Lady Trailblazers led 36-27 at halftime after Craft drilled a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the corner. But Mineral Area opened the second half with an 8-2 run to close to within 38-35 in the first four minutes. VU treaded water and led 47-42 with 12:30 remaining when Lady Cardinals Coach Gary Koch was called for a technical foul.
Elam hit one of the two free throws, but VU failed to capitalize on the ensuing possession and Mineral Area’s Leola Hubbard converted an old-fashioned three-point play to bring the Lady Cardinals right back to within three. Two VU turnovers, combined with two Gaskin buckets, gave Mineral Area the lead at 49-48.
Bratton’s basket a few minutes later put the Lady Trailblazers back in front 54-53 and VU began to tighten the screws on the Lady Cardinals. Briley Milfeld misfired for Mineral Area and Elam, Buis and Kendra Gay scored for the Lady Trailblazers to make it 60-55 VU.
VU extended the lead to 70-60 before Gaskin scored yet again with what would be Mineral Area’s final points. Craft sank four straight free throws as the Lady Cardinals pressed and fouled her twice in trying to get the ball back.
VU (6-5) will host John A. Logan at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the VU P.E. Complex. The VU men will then take the floor versus John A. Logan at 7 p.m.
