The first half went back and forth at the start with four ties and three lead changes with MVNU (14-3, 2-2 AMC) in front 13-11 at the 13:50 mark.

Then, the visiting Lady Raiders (2-7, 0-4 AMC) rattled off eight straight points to take a 19-13 lead with 12:02 remaining in the half as Morgan Skiff led the way with five points.

With Roberts Wesleyan still holding a 28-22 lead at the 8:27 mark, the Lady Cougars closed the half on a 19-11 run to take a 41-39 advantage to the locker room at the break. Senior post Melissa Mastrodonato led the comeback with nine points.

Mastrodonato paced MVNU with 15 points and seven rebounds in the first half as she went 6-for-9 from the field. Freshman forward Alexis Harkins (left) and senior wing Bethany Hughes also added six points apiece. The Lady Cougars shot 43.2 percent from the field (16-for-37), 33.3 percent from three-point range (5-for-15), and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (4-for-6).

Erin Farney and Jackie Murphy both scored 14 first-half points to lead the Lady Raiders with Murphy grabbing seven rebounds. Roberts Wesleyan shot 45.5 percent from the field (15-for-33), 50.0 percent from three-point range (4-for-8), and 83.3 percent from the free throw line (5-for-6).

MVNU started the second half with a 10-0 run to take control of the game, while the Lady Raiders missed their first 10 field goal attempts and committed three turnovers as the Lady Cougars’ lead grew to 51-39 with just three minutes gone by. Sophomore forward Kellie Jokela led the way with five points, while senior guard Rachel Fiely nailed a three-pointer and senior guard Jessica Lynn added a layup.

Four free throws by Farney at the 16:00 and 15:21 marks respectively got Roberts Wesleyan on the scoreboard in the second half, but a basket by Harkins and back-to-back treys by Hughes expanded MVNU’s lead to 59-43 with 13:59 to play.

Farney connected on what would be one of just two field goals in the second half for the Lady Raiders with 13:38 left to trim the lead to 59-45, but 13 unanswered points by the Lady Cougars ballooned the lead to 72-45 with 9:57 remaining. Harkins had four points and senior guard Ashley Brown nailed a three-pointer to lead the surge.

A basket by Sarah Child with 9:47 left on the clock would prove to be the final field goal of the game for Roberts Wesleyan as the Lady Raiders would then miss their final 11 shots from the field while going 6-of-11 at the free throw line as MVNU prevailed 89-53 with the final score also being the largest margin in the game.

“This was an important win after coming off a tough 77-73 loss the night before against No. 22 Daemen College,” said MVNU coach Steve Gregory. “The team was a little sluggish and missing in the hustle plays in the first half.

“The second half was a much different story in getting to loose balls on the floor, denying ball reversal, boxing off the backside rebounders, and getting out of possessions,” Gregory continued. “We also turned up the heat with our transition offense. We fatigued them and eventually ran past them as we sensed they had hit the wall. Our defense was key to a big second half for us along with our transition offense.”

Harkins led five Lady Cougars in double figures with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Mastrodonato finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, and a career-high four assists. Hughes (right) tossed in 14 points off the bench, and Jokela tallied 12 points and nine rebounds. Fiely also filled out the stat sheet with 10 points, six rebounds, six assists, and four steals, while sophomore guard Lauren Johnson totaled nine points off the bench. Freshman guard Gabby Fowler grabbed a career-high five rebounds off the bench to go with three points, and Brown added six points and six rebounds. MVNU shot 43.2 percent from the field (35-for-81), 33.3 percent from three-point range (12-for-36), and 75.0 percent from the free throw line (7-for-10). The Lady Cougars also posted a 54-40 rebounding advantage and registered 27 assists.

“A lot of people contributed tonight, but none were bigger than our bench play,” said Gregory as the MVNU reserves out-scored the Lady Raider subs 34-2 in the contest. “Bethany was tremendous. She hit several big baskets and was on her game tonight. Defensively, she was a catalyst for us as she defended players that were a lot bigger than her and gave up nothing positive for Roberts Wesleyan. Ashley is working her way back from injury and getting her conditioning back, and it was nice to see her doing things that she is used to doing again. Lauren made numerous positive plays for us and I think she is getting closer to being 100 percent again since coming back from five weeks off during December.”

“Alexis, Rachel, Jessica, Kellie, and Melissa really set the tone in the second half early as they dug in defensively and made play after play,” said Gregory. “The two-point advantage we enjoyed at the intermission quickly grew and they had a lot to do with that. Bethany proved to be a big zone buster tonight for us, and Alexis came out and was aggressive from the start and made numerous big plays.”

Farney led Roberts Wesleyan with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Murphy finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The Lady Raiders shot 28.8 percent from the field (17-for-59), 25.0 percent from three-point range (4-for-16), and 71.4 percent from the free throw line (15-for-21).

MVNU will return to action on Tuesday when the Lady Cougars will host No. 13 Cedarville University in another AMC contest that will tip off at 5:30 p.m.