Sophomore Kim BeVier and seniors Ashley Brown, Bethany Hughes, Jessica Lynn, Melissa Mastrodonato, and Rachel Fiely have helped MVNU post a 63-50 overall record (.558 winning percentage) over the past four years. The Lady Cougars have advanced to two National Christian College Athletic Association East Region championship games during that span only to fall both times in overtime at Roberts Wesleyan (N.Y.) College. This year, MVNU is looking to reach the 20-win mark for only the fourth time in school history and also to qualify for the American Mideast Conference Tournament for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.

BeVier, a 5-foot-5 guard from Pataskala, Ohio, has seen action in 27 games for the Lady Cougars over the past two years and is averaging 1.9 points for her career. She is shooting 77.8 percent at the free throw line, and the former Licking County Christian High School product has gone 13-for-32 from three-point range (40.6 percent). This season, BeVier has seen action in 14 games and is averaging 1.1 points. A Fitness Management major, she has also posted a 3.3 grade point average in the classroom.

"Kim has been a pleasure to coach,” said MVNU coach Steve Gregory. "I have seen a lot of growth in her as a person over the last two years and I am so happy for her that she is getting her associate’s degree and is prepared to meet the next set of challenges that life has to offer. She is a well-grounded individual with a deep love of God. She has done outstanding academically by balancing academics with athletics.”

"From a basketball perspective, Kim has really come on this season and has been a vital key to our success,” Gregory continued. "This is the deepest our team has ever been and that is a credit to Kim. She has always been a very strong perimeter shooter, and this year the rest of her game has really blossomed. Her confidence has also grown tremendously. Kim came in as a very quiet and to-her-self type person and that has dramatically shifted to her being the outgoing, funny girl we see every day before, during, and after practice. She is a person who I will deeply miss next year.”

Brown, a 5-foot-8 guard from Wadsworth, Ohio, has seen action in 83 games over the past four years. The former Wadsworth High School standout has compiled 366 points, 290 rebounds, 167 assists, and 118 steals during that span. She has been named the team’s Cougar Award recipient each of her three previous years, and she has a 3.3 grade point average as an Integrated Social Studies Education major. This season, Brown has played in 17 games with four starts and is averaging 3.4 points and 2.5 rebounds.

"Ashley has been a tremendous competitor who loves the game of basketball,” said Gregory. "She was sidelined almost a year with a neck problem and then suffered through a pretty serious ankle injury earlier this season. Those were some tough times for Ashley, but they also helped her to have a finer appreciation for the game while she was out. She has been a great influence to our younger players and her work ethic is unquestioned. She does not know anything less than going at 100 percent all the time and that has been a great lesson to for our younger players to learn.”

"Ashley’s versatility has been a big plus for our team as she has always played anywhere from our 1-4 spots,” Gregory continued. "She has the size and strength to play against bigger/taller players, yet she has the quickness and ball-handling ability to defend and run the point and shooting guard position when necessary. Her role has constantly changed and one thing has always been paramount with Ashley - she is a team player and she wants to win. She has been a team captain for us over the past two seasons and has also led our team small group ministry. I am extremely proud of her for overcoming some serious injury setbacks and for being a great leader and mentor for our younger kids.”

Hughes, a 5-foot-8 guard from Payne, Ohio, has played in 108 games over the past four years. The former Wayne Trace High School star has registered 257 points, 199 rebounds, 74 assists, and 74 steals. Earlier this season, she was named to the Ohio Dominican University Classic All-Tournament Team, and she has a 3.3 grade point average as an Elementary Education major. This year, Hughes has played in all 26 games off the bench and is averaging 5.1 points and 2.9 rebounds.

"Bethany has had a tremendous career here at MVNU,” said Gregory. "She has been a vital part of our success and I cannot say enough about what a great person she is. On the court, she exudes deep passion for the game of basketball. She is always plugged in and ready to go. She is the loudest person on our bench when she is not in the game and the most vocal person on the court when in the game. She loves to compete and she has never backed away from any challenge.”

"Bethany’s role has changed throughout her career and she has embraced that fact and always has done her very best,” Gregory added. "I am so proud of her accomplishments and will always fondly remember our time in California when her dreams were realized on that trip with who she wanted to marry and the type of lifestyle she wanted to lead once she graduated from MVNU. She has always been a hard-nosed competitor and her shot dramatically improved when she changed it during her sophomore season. While she would not be considered the most athletic player in the world, Bethany has more than made up for it with her work ethic and tenacious drive to be the best at whatever she does. I know that I am a better person because our paths crossed. She has been a great Christian influence in our locker room and for that I am grateful.”

Lynn, a 5-foot-7 guard from Cambridge, Ohio, has seen action in 103 games over the past four seasons. The former Cambridge High School product has contributed 365 points, 237 rebounds, 176 assists, and 123 steals during that span. She has posted a 3.1 grade point average while majoring in Criminal Justice. This season, Lynn has played in all 26 games with 11 starts and is averaging 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds.

"Jessica loves to compete and wears her heart out on her sleeve,” said Gregory. "You cannot help but admire what she puts into the game of basketball. She has a tenacious appetite for winning and will do just about anything to help her team to that end. If you were to watch her for the first time, you would probably be trembling because she is not all smiles - it is business for her. She is always ready to compete and she has become known as our shutdown defender. We usually match Jessica up with the quickest, most athletic guard and have her put the clamps down on her. Her competitive juices get flowing when she goes face to face with a great offensive player. She has never backed down and is a bigger guard who is athletic and hard-nosed. She has always been very passionate about the game of basketball and her will to succeed.”

"Jessica has helped this team tremendously with her leadership, passion, intensity, and never-give-up mentality,” Gregory continued. "She wants to be counted on when the going gets rough, and we have put her in those situations time and time again. She always comes through. I am very proud of her and what she has sacrificed for this team. She is a very caring person once you get through the stone-faced façade, and she is a great friend to all who get to know her.”

Mastrodonato, a 5-foot-10 post from Lakewood, Ohio, has played in 98 games over the past four years. The former Lakewood High School standout has recorded 846 points, 465 rebounds, and ranks fourth in school history with 88 career blocks. As a sophomore, she was named to the AMC South Division Honorable Mention Team, and she earned a spot on the NCCAA East Region Honorable Mention list as a junior. She also carries nearly a 3.0 grade point average as a Nursing major. This season, Mastrodonato has played in 24 games with 10 starts and is averaging 7.0 points and 4.6 rebounds to go with 20 blocked shots.

"Melissa has had a great career here at MVNU,” said Gregory. "She came to MVNU with a high school career that was sort of incomplete. She had always had foot problems that would not allow her to go out and compete every night and be at her best. Her strong Christian conviction along with her family’s constant prayers allowed her to come to MVNU and play virtually pain-free over the past four years. She has made a tremendous investment in our program and for that I am thankful. She almost did not play this year because of being a Nursing major as the rigorous requirements of that program left virtually no time for her to play basketball let along have any kind of social life. I am glad to say that she found a way to make it happen and she has had a great senior season.”

"Melissa has worked hard over the last four years to master post moves both with the right and left hands as well as footwork and seal techniques,” Gregory added. "She has done tremendously well and has been a playmaker who our team has counted on over the years. She has a contagious personality and an engaging laugh. She loves to tell stories and her team loves to laugh with her.”

Fiely, a 5-foot-7 guard from Greenville, Ohio, has played in all 113 games during her four years making 112 starts with the only non-start coming as a result of having to take a national education exam on the same day as a game and arriving late. The former Greenville High School star is the program’s career leader in both assists (573) and steals (303), ranks third in three-pointers made (173) and free throws made (378), stands fifth in points (1,431), and is seventh in field goals made (440). She has also grabbed 480 rebounds. In the classroom, she has compiled a 3.2 grade point average as a Physical Education/Health Education major. This season, she is averaging 13.7 points and 3.2 rebounds to go with a team-leading 81 steals and a school-record 168 assists which ranks third in NAIA Division II. Among her many career honors, Fiely was named to the AMC South Division Second Team and selected as an NCCAA Honorable Mention All-American as a junior.

"A three-year-plus captain, Rachel is the epitome of what you want in a basketball player,” said Gregory. "She is a big, strong, tough, hard-working, talented, mentally-strong, never-back-down, ultra competitive person and player. She has scored over 1,400 points, become our all-time steals leader, and blown away our all-time assists mark. She has never backed down from anything and has gotten better each and every year. She probably could have been a 2,000-point scorer, but she is far too unselfish for that.”

"Rachel has never played for accolades, but she has gotten plenty,” Gregory continued. "She has been a mentally-tough competitor who I will sadly miss. It has been such a great pleasure going to battle each night knowing I have had a deeply-talented point guard who makes her team better each and every night out. I have tried to ingrain in her that she needs to take more shots, but she has struggled with that because she has always been the floor general and distributing and keeping her teammates involved has always been far more important to her than simply getting stats. She has been the most well-rounded player that I have ever had the good fortune of coaching. You do not just replace a Rachel Fiely - you try to find other kids who have some of the same traits and then do the best you can with dividing up the roles.”

The Lady Cougars, who are currently 19-7 overall and 6-6 in the highly-competitive AMC, have two remaining regular-season games after Saturday’s contest against Ursuline. MVNU is in the running for one of the eight conference spots in the postseason.