MVNU (7-1), which never trailed in the game, jumped out to a quick 18-3 lead as senior forward Amy Sebastian nailed a pair of three-pointers and junior guard Jessica Lynn (left) and freshman forward Kellie Jokela each added a trey apiece with Lynn also making two baskets inside the arc for seven early points.

The lead grew to as much as 33-12 in the first half on a three-pointer by junior guard Rachel Fiely with 4:56 left before the break. MVNU took a 36-20 advantage to the locker room after the first 20 minutes.

Lynn led the Lady Cougars with 10 first-half points as she nearly reached her previous career high of 11 points. Fiely added seven points and four assists, while Sebastian tossed in six points. Jokela grabbed five first-half rebounds, and MVNU forced 14 turnovers. The Lady Cougars shot 41.9 percent from the field (13-for-31), 46.2 percent from three-point range (6-for-13), and 80.0 percent at the free throw line (4-for-5).

Ashly Chandler led Pikeville (1-9) with eight first-half points, while Heather English grabbed six rebounds for the Lady Bears. Pikeville shot 32.0 percent from the field (8-for-25), missed all four of its three-point attempts, and went just 4-for-9 from the free throw line (44.4 percent). The Lady Bears did out-rebound MVNU 22-16 in the first half.

The Lady Cougars took control of the game over the first four minutes of the second half with a 12-3 run to expand their lead to 48-23 with just over 16 minutes remaining. Junior post Melissa Mastrodonato scored six quick points and freshman guard Kelli Pollock nailed a three-pointer to fuel the surge.

The lead grew to as much as 75-38 with 6:27 to play when Lynn hit her career-high fifth three-pointer of the game. Although Pikeville closed the game on a 17-3 run, it was too little too late as MVNU prevailed 78-55.

Lynn finished with a career-high 21 points as she went 5-for-6 from three-point range. Fiely (right) added 13 points and seven assists, and Sebastian tossed in nine points and grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds. Freshman post Amanda Himes also tallied eight points, and Pollock and Mastrodonato chipped in with six points apiece. The Lady Cougars shot 43.8 percent from the field (28-for-64), 48.3 percent from three-point range (14-for-29), and 80.0 percent at the free throw line (8-for-10).

“Our kids did a great job of following up last night’s winning performance against Concordia (89-61) and really jumping out on top and staying on top of Pikeville throughout,” said MVNU head coach Steve Gregory. “We established an early lead and never relinquished it. We drained 14 three-pointers because (Pikeville) focused their defense on stopping our post game.”

“Jessica was outstanding today,” said Gregory of Lynn, who is known more for her defense than her scoring. “She hit her stride today and broke out of a little slump by hitting 5-of-6 three-point shots. Rachel also stayed in the zone by hitting all three of her three-point attempts today. She did an excellent job of running the offense and executing the plays. Amy was also feeling it today as she was calling for the ball and making positive contributions on the offensive end. Our defense was outstanding this whole weekend and continues to get better.”

English led the Lady Bears, who are an NAIA Division I school, with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Meagan Johnson added 11 points. Chandler finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, and Kristal Daniels grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Pikeville shot 35.6 percent from the field (21-for-59), 21.4 percent from three-point range (3-for-14), and 50.0 percent at the free throw line (10-for-20). The Lady Bears won the rebounding battle 42-39, but they also committed 21 turnovers.

MVNU will return to action on Tuesday with a non-conference game at Ohio State University-Marion that is slated to tip off at 6:00 p.m.