The game went back and forth at the outset with three ties and eight lead changes with the visiting Lady Arrows (14-12, 7-6 AMC) holding a 15-12 lead at the 12:58 mark after a trio of three-pointers by Whitney Blackburn.

At that point, the Lady Cougars (20-7, 7-6 AMC) caught fire and went on a 16-3 run to build a 28-18 advantage with 7:13 left in the half. Freshman guard Gabby Fowler (left) came off the bench to nail back-to-back treys, while sophomore forward Alexis Harkins also added five points.

Blackburn heated up once again for Ursuline as she drained a trio of three-pointers and hit two free throws for 11 quick points as the Lady Arrows closed the gap to 30-29 in the span of just three minutes.

MVNU increased the lead back out to 38-31 with 2:08 remaining before the break as senior post Melissa Mastrodonato scored five points and Fowler hit another trifecta, but Blackburn drained another trey and four free throws to close the half as the Lady Cougars took a slim 43-41 lead to the locker room at the break.

Harkins paced MVNU with 18 first-half points as she went 7-for-9 from the field including 4-for-5 from three-point range. Fowler tossed in nine points off the bench by going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, while Mastrodonato contributed eight points and five rebounds. The Lady Cougars shot 45.2 percent from the field (14-for-31), 50.0 percent from three-point range (8-for-16), and 77.8 percent from the free throw line (7-for-9).

Blackburn torched the MVNU defense for 27 points in the first half as she went 7-for-10 from three-point range and 6-for-6 at the free throw line to account for all but 14 of her team’s points at the break. Ashlie Hargrove grabbed seven rebounds as Ursuline out-rebounded MVNU 24-11 including a 10-3 edge in offensive rebounds. However, the Lady Arrows downfall was committing 13 turnovers to just five for the Lady Cougars. Ursuline shot 44.4 percent from the field (12-for-27), 57.1 percent from three-point range (8-for-14), and 64.3 percent from the free throw line (9-for-14).

After Jessica Wood hit a jumper for the Lady Arrows to knot the score at 43-43 to start the second half, MVNU went on a 12-0 run to take a 55-43 lead with 15:07 left in the game. Sophomore post Amanda Himes led the surge with five points, while Harkins (right) added four points.

Ursuline scored six quick points to close the gap to 55-49 at the 13:39 mark, but a 9-2 run by the Lady Cougars extended their lead back out to 64-51 with 10:19 remaining as senior guard Jessica Lynn hit a three-pointer and recorded a steal and coast-to-coast layup to cap the spurt.

The Lady Arrows got within 67-59 on a pair of free throws by Chanell Smith with 7:57 to go, but an 11-4 run by MVNU gave the Lady Cougars some breathing room with a 78-63 cushion and only 4:15 on the clock. From there, MVNU was able to hold on for the 82-70 victory.

“This was a great win for our team tonight,” said MVNU coach Steve Gregory. “Our team has worked really hard and is enjoying the fruits of their labor. Not only are we in a much better position in the conference (with the win), but this senior class has also now posted a 20-win season. The seniors contributed to this win in such a big way tonight. Their defense and overall team play was outstanding. It was awesome that they could all five be on the floor for the last minute of play together in their final home game.”

Harkins finished with 27 points to match her career high as she went 9-for-12 from the field, 4-for-5 from three-point range, and 5-for-6 at the free throw line. Himes added 13 points and a career-high four assists, while Fiely contributed 10 points, seven rebounds, and a career-high eight steals. Mastrodonato also tossed in 10 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench, while sophomore forward Kellie Jokela snared a team-high seven rebounds and Fowler equaled her career high with nine points. The Lady Cougars shot 41.9 percent from the field (26-for-62), 39.1 percent from three-point range (9-for-23), and 70.0 percent from the free throw line (21-for-30).

“Alexis had a huge night,” said Gregory. “She was great on both sides of the ball and really stood out offensively. Amanda got in foul trouble in the first half, but was outstanding in the paint in the second half. Rachel (left) was her usual brilliant self as well. Her overall game was outstanding. Whatever the team needs, she provides. She was a defensive gem on their best offensive player (Blackburn) in the second half. She made many great steals and racked up the assists once again tonight. Lastly, her leadership was an added benefit.”

“Melissa gave us great minutes off the bench tonight with Amanda in foul trouble,” Gregory continued. “Gabby gave us a huge spark in the first half and really was a zone buster by hitting three treys early on. Ashley (Brown)’s offensive rebounding and timely free throw shooting was also crucial to the outcome tonight. Bethany (Hughes) and Jessica went out and made some great defensive plays for us, while Jessica knocked down a trey and also had a huge steal that turned out to be a huge and-one opportunity in transition.”

Blackburn finished with a game-high 32 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field with eight three-pointers and an 8-for-8 showing at the free throw line to lead Ursuline, but she was held to just five points in the decisive second half. Kayla Kryznowek added 13 points, while Wood posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Lady Arrows shot 43.4 percent from the field (23-for-53), 40.9 percent from three-point range (9-for-22), and 65.2 percent from the free throw line (15-for-23). Ursuline won the battle of the boards 44-31, but the Lady Arrows committed 26 costly turnovers to just 13 miscues for MVNU.

With the victory, the Lady Cougars move into a four-way tie for seventh place in the AMC standings with Ursuline, Notre Dame College, and the University of Rio Grande as all three teams lost on Saturday. MVNU would own the tiebreaker with all three of those schools due to winning the head-to-head meeting against all of them. The top eight teams all make the NAIA postseason with the top two teams earning automatic berths into the NAIA Division II National Tournament and the next six teams playing in the single elimination AMC Tournament for the conference’s third automatic berth.

“We beat a very good Ursuline squad that was above us in the conference standings,” said Gregory. “We also now own head-to-head advantages over three teams that have been in front of us. I really feel like our team has hit a groove where we are really playing well. We have two more games on the road and we control our own destiny as far as playing ourselves into the conference tournament.”

The Lady Cougars will return to action on Friday when MVNU will travel to Carlow (Pa.) University for an AMC game that will tip off at 7:00 p.m. Then, the Lady Cougars will close out the regular season at Point Park (Pa.) University on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.