INA, Ill. – The No. 4-ranked Vincennes University Trailblazers clinched their spot in Friday night’s 2024 Region 24/Central District Championship with an 84-68 victory over defending NJCAA National Champion John A. Logan College.

The Trailblazers got an outstanding night out of sophomore Michael Osei-Bonsu (Bolingbrook, Ill.) who finished with a career-high 33 points, 15 rebounds and six steals for VU.

Vincennes earned a spot in Friday’s Region 24 Championship game and will play for an automatic bid to the NJCAA Division I National tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.

The first half Wednesday night was a back-and-forth battle, with John A. Logan holding the upper hand for most of the opening 20 minutes.

Vincennes was able to put together a 9-0 scoring run to take their first lead late in the first half at -32, but the Volunteers were able to close out the first half of play on a 9-3 run of their own.

The Trailblazers headed into the locker room trailing John A. Logan 41-37 at the break, despite having 21 points by Michael Osei-Bonsu in the first half, just one point off of his season high.

The halftime speech in the locker room appeared to work for the Trailblazers in the second half as VU opened the final 20 minutes by really cranking up the defensive pressure.

Vincennes opened the second half on a 29-8 scoring run to take a 66-49 lead midway through the period.

The Volunteers looked to answer back down the stretch but were unable to put together a big scoring run of their own as Vincennes was able to cap off an 84-68 victory, outscoring the Vols 47-27 in the second half.

“Mike carried us in the first half when nobody was playing,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “It was like playing one on five. Ryan was doing some things defensively but also made a couple of silly fouls and took himself out. So at halftime we challenged a few guys and try to see if we could play five on five.”

“In the second half we found five that were playing and we think we’re pretty good when we’re playing,” Franklin added. “In the second half we played, it’s that simple. Kris King stepped up in the second half. Lebron was more aggressive in the second half and we have some downhill things set up for him and Kris. We got them caught in some of our actions early in the half and it made it very difficult for them to guard us man-to-man. They went to the zone and we were prepared for the zone. We thought there were some areas we could attack and Kris was going to be a key part of that since the last time we saw them.”

“I thought they played well,” Franklin said. “I thought defensively we were much better in the second half. We only gave up 27 points in the second half. That’s more like it. It was a good effort. Logan is hard to beat. Especially when they are all jacked up and ready to go and playing over here, which this is basically a road game for us. It’s a tough road game, four hours round trip on the bus Monday and two hours getting over here today. But our guys got it done and it’s a big win for us. Obviously, I think we’re already in the tournament and now I can’t see how we don’t get a bye at this point. But we’ll see. We want to come out here Friday and win a championship and we’ll see if we can do that.”

Sophomore Michael Osei-Bonsu put the team on his back Wednesday night, setting a new career high with 33 points on the night, picking up his 10th double-double of the season and 16th of his VU career with 15 rebounds and also set a new career high with six steals.

Freshman Lebron Thomas (Bishopville, S.C.) was able to provide some offensive assistance in the second half, scoring 15 of his 21 points in the final 20 minutes, including hitting a pair of threes to go along with his eight rebounds and team-high six assists.

Sophomore Kris King (Washington, D.C.) was the third VU scorer in double-figures Wednesday night, coming off the bench to score 14 points, all in the second half, while also grabbing three rebounds and dishing out three assists.

Sophomore Ryan Oliver (Antioch, Tenn.) again drew a tough defensive assignment guarding John A. Logan leading scorer Julian Norris for most of the night.

Norris was coming off of a 36-point outburst in the Volunteers quarterfinal victory over Lake Land College but was held to just 11 points Wednesday against VU.

Oliver finished his night with five points and a pair of assists.

Lacy Smith wins it for UE

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Sophomore Lacy Smith came through with two clutch hits, including the game-winner as the University of Evansville softball team defeated Indiana State by a 6-5 final in eight innings on Wednesday inside Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James and Dorothy Cooper Stadium.

Smith helped UE tie the game with a single in the bottom of the 6^th before coming through once again in the 8^th.  After the Sycamores plated a pair to take a 5-3 lead, Marah Wood hit a solo shot to cut the deficit in half.  With runners on second and third, Smith was at the plate once again and hit the game-winning double.

Just as they had done in Tuesday’s game, Indiana State plated two runs in the top half of the first.  ISU got on the board with a fielder’s choice before a bases loaded walk scored the second.

Evansville cut the Sycamore lead in half in the bottom of the second.  Brooke Voss reached on a stand up double and would cross the plate on Jenna Nink’s 2-out RBI single.  In the third, ISU got the run right back but the damage could have been worse.  The Sycamores recorded four hits in the frame but Purple Aces catcher Taylor Howe threw out the leadoff baserunner at third base as Indiana State was able to tack on just one.

UE attempted a 2-out rally in the bottom half of the third.  After Zoe Frossard was hit by a pitch, Hannah Hood doubled to left, but ISU pitcher Hailey Griffin was able to strike out the final batter to preserve the 3-1 lead.  Excellent baserunning by Lacy Smith saw UE get back within a run.  After reaching on a walk, she advanced to second on a ground out, third on a wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Hannah Hood.

Hood’s defense played a pivotal role in the top of the 6^th.  With the lead runner on first, she caught a liner and threw the baserunner out for the double play to keep it at a 1-run game. That would pay off in the bottom of the 6^th as Lacy Smith delivered the game-tying RBI single.  UE looked for the go-ahead run but a close play at the plate proved to be the third out to end the inning.  The teams battled it out into extra innings where the Sycamores got the jump.  After putting runners on second and third with no outs, ISU picked up the go-ahead hit.

In the bottom of the 8^th, the Aces worked their way back.  Marah Wood hit a leadoff solo home run while Brooke Voss and Abby Bode reached base.  Voss walked and advanced to third on Bode’s double.  Smith came through in the clutch once again, doubling to left center to seal the walk-off win.  Smith accounted for two of the Aces’ seven hits.  ISU had 12 hits with Abi Chipps recording three.

Aces starter Sydney Weatherford threw four innings and allowed three runs on six hits.  She did a nice job with runners in scoring position, limiting the ISU offense in multiple innings.  Megan Brenton earned the win, going the final four innings with two runs, one earned, crossing the plate.  It was her fourth win of the year.

Up next for UE is a home series this weekend against Valparaiso.

The freshman forward ended her season leading the Aces in scoring average

ST. LOUIS – University of Evansville women’s basketball player Nevaeh Thomas was recognized on Wednesday evening as the Missouri Valley Conference announced its postseason All-Conference awards.

After a strong freshman campaign, Thomas was named to the Valley’s All-Freshman Team along with four other first-year players. In her first season with the Purple Aces, Thomas was named MVC Freshman of the Week on February 11^th after back-to-back double-double performances against UIC and Valparaiso.

Thomas led UE in the regular season in points per game, averaging 15.4 points in only 21 games while also leading Evansville in field goal percentage at 47.8%. Thomas was also top three for the Aces in rebounds per game (8.1), blocks (18), steals (19), and minutes per game (27.4). In the Valley, Thomas is in the Top 10 in scoring (7^th), rebounding (9^th), and defensive rebounds (6^th).

The forward’s breakout performance came at Valparaiso in UE’s first conference win of the season. Thomas put up her third double-double performance against the Beacons with 23 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. The freshman also went 10 of 15 on the floor for 62.5% shooting in 33 minutes of action.

Belmont’s Jailyn Banks was named the MVC Freshman of the Year while Thomas finished fourth in voting among league coaches, media, and sports information directors. Also on the All-Freshman Team were Halli Poock of Bradley, Shannon Dowell of Illinois State, and Haven Ford of Murray State.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Tennis freshman Antonia Ferrarini (Caxias do Sul, Brazil) and junior Madison Windham (Clarksville, Tennessee) were named Ohio Valley Conference Doubles Team of the Week, announced by the league Wednesday afternoon. This marks the third OVC Doubles Team of the Week in program history and second this season.
 
Ferrarini and Windham found their groove last Saturday in a massive win for the Screaming Eagles over Eastern Kentucky University. The duo took down the Colonels 6-4 in their match as the No. 3 doubles. The Ferrarini/Wndham combination swept both their contests on the week winning their doubles match against Missouri-St. Louis, 6-0.
 
The Eagles are currently 3-7 on the year with victories over and Thomas More University, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and EKU.
 
Ferrarini, Windham, and the Eagles will be back in action this Saturday at the USI Tennis Courts to take on conference rival Eastern Illinois University at 1 p.m. On Sunday, the Eagles travel to Peoria, Illinois to take on Bradley University at 10 a.m.
 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Tennis freshman Sofia Davidoff (Lagny-sur-Marne, France) earned the Ohio Valley Conference Co-Women’s Singles Player of the Week. She shares the weekly award with SIUE’s Amelia Gorman. The honor also marks the first OVC singles player of the week in program history.

Davidoff led the Screaming Eagles to huge victory for the program last Saturday against Eastern Kentucky University. She was the highlight of the singles portion against EKU winning her match 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 to catapult the Eagles past the Colonels.

The Eagles are currently 3-7 on the year with victories over and Thomas More University, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and EKU.

Davidoff and the Eagles will be back in action this Saturday at the USI Tennis Courts to take on conference rival Eastern Illinois University at 1 p.m. On Sunday, the Eagles travel to Peoria, Illinois to take on Bradley University at 10 a.m.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Big Ten Champion three years running, Indiana men’s swimming and diving will send 12 swimmers to the 2024 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships following the NCAA’s announcement of invitations to the national meet on Wednesday (March 13).

The Indiana men will compete in their backyard as the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis will play host to the competition. The meet will run over four days, March 27-30. Fans can purchase tickets here.

Indiana can add more qualifiers via the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships this week in Louisville, Kentucky. Hoosiers with NCAA zone qualifying marks during the season will compete to advance from the regional meet.

Including the five relays, Indiana will have competitors in 18 events. IU is well-represented in the two breaststroke events, with four Hoosiers qualified for each. Indiana will also have three swimmers each in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard butterfly.

INDIANA MEN’S SWIMMING QUALIFIERS

2024 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships

Toby Barnett – 200 breaststroke, 200 IM, 400 IM

Luke Barr – 100 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 IM

Finn Brooks – 50 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 butterfly

Brendan Burns – 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, 200 butterfly

Tristan DeWitt – 500 freestyle, 1,650 freestyle

Tomer Frankel – 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly

Rafael Miroslaw – 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle

Josh Matheny – 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke

Maxwell Reich – 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke

Kai van Westering – 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke

Armando Vegas – 200 butterfly

Jassen Yep – 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke

200-yard freestyle relay

400-yard freestyle relay

800-yard freestyle relay

200-yard medley relay

400-yard medley relay