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Lady Cougar Basketball Game Recap
Himes' Buzzer-Beater Caps 80-79 Overtime
Comback for MVNU
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director
Game Boxscore
LIMA, Ohio (2-11-2010) - The Mount Vernon
Nazarene University women’s basketball team
overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to
force overtime and then rallied from seven
points down in the extra session to post an
80-79 overtime win at the University of
Northwestern Ohio on a rebound and put-back
by junior post Amanda Himes as time expired
in the American Mideast Conference game on
Thursday night.
 After
the Lady Cougars (17-5, 10-4 AMC) took a
short-lived 6-2 lead on back-to-back baskets
by Himes (left) and a layup by
junior guard Lauren Johnson to start the
game, Northwestern Ohio (16-9, 8-7 AMC) used
a 25-10 run to take a 27-16 advantage by the
7:46 mark. Ashley Jackson fueled the surge
for the Lady Racers with 16 points.
The lead grew to as much as 34-20 on a
three-pointer by Kelly Warris with 5:24 left
in the half before MVNU closed the half on a
6-1 run to pull within 35-26 as the teams
went to the locker rooms at the break. Himes
scored four points to led the comeback,
while freshman forward Emily Steveley added
a jumper.
Himes posted a double-double of 10 points
and 10 rebounds in the first half to lead
the Lady Cougars, while Steveley added six
points. MVNU shot just 35.1 percent from the
field (13-for-37), missed all six of its
three-point attempts, and went 0-for-1 at
the free throw line. The Lady Cougars also
committed 19 turnovers in the first 20
minutes of action, but they compensated for
that by posting a 30-14 rebounding advantage
that included grabbing 14 offensive
rebounds.
Jackson paced Northwestern Ohio with 18
points in the first half, while Warris added
seven points. The Lady Racers shot 41.2
percent from the field (14-for-34), 27.8
percent from three-point range (5-for-18),
and 66.7 percent from the free throw line
(2-for-3).
"Our first-half effort was very lackluster,”
said MVNU coach Steve Gregory. "We’ve been
off for a full week dealing with
postponements due to the weather. We turned
the ball over 19 times in the first half as
we were very sluggish in making good
decisions. Add to that (sophomore guard)
Sierra (Fletcher) was in foul trouble very
early on and that’s a recipe for disaster
when you take out your primary ball-handler
and playmaker. Fortunately, our bench
stepped up in Emily, (freshman guard) Jessi
(Drayer), (freshman guard) Melissa (Eickholt),
(freshman post) Courtney (Swart), and
(sophomore guard) Gabby (Fowler).”
"We went to the break down nine points and
our only saving grace was our offensive
rebounding,” Gregory continued. "(Junior
forward) Kellie (Jokela), Amanda, (junior
wing) Kelli (Pollock), and Emily were the
principle people who extended possessions
and helped us to a manageable deficit at the
half.”
Fletcher, MVNU’s second-leading scorer, got
the second half off to a good start for the
Lady Cougars as she scored the first seven
points after playing just seven minutes in
the first half. Then, Himes capped off the
9-0 run to start the half with a jumper to
knot the score at 35-35 at the 17:22 mark.
After Northwestern Ohio’s lead grew back to
40-35 on a trey by Molly French with 16:10
to go, MVNU used an 8-2 run to take a 43-42
advantage with 14:14 remaining as Himes
scored six more points and Johnson added a
layup.
The Lady Cougars’ lead was short-lived once
again, though, as the Lady Racers roared off
on a 20-6 run to build what seemed to be a
commanding 62-49 lead with 7:03 left. French
scored six points and Amanda Francis added
five points to lead the way.
With MVNU trailing 65-54 with 6:15
remaining, the Lady Cougars mounted another
comeback as they scored eight straight
points to pull within 65-62 on a layup by
Pollock with 2:49 still on the clock.
The teams traded baskets over the next two
minutes and MVNU still trailed 69-66 when
Pollock drained a three-pointer to knot the
score at 69-69 with 45 seconds left. After a
defensive stop on a steal by Fletcher, the
Lady Cougars were unable to get a shot off
as the game headed to overtime.
A jumper by Pollock gave MVNU a brief 71-69
lead in the five-minute extra session, but
Northwestern Ohio scored the next nine
points to take a 78-71 lead with 3:15 to go
as Francis scored four points, Alexa Kennedy
hit a three-pointer, and Jackson made a
layup.
The Lady Cougars did not give in, though, as
once again MVNU began to chip away at the
lead. After Pollock made a basket, Francis
split a pair of free throws to give the Lady
Racers a 79-73 advantage with 2:42 left.
Himes split a pair of free throws herself
with 2:25 to go to make it 79-74 and
Fletcher followed with a steal and layup to
close the gap to 79-76 with 1:55 remaining.
Both teams missed a shot on their next
possession and Himes made it 79-78 on a
jumper with 56 seconds left.
Northwestern Ohio failed to get a shot off
on its next possession as Himes recorded a
steal. Playing for the final shot down by a
point, Fletcher found Johnson open on the
wing with five seconds to go. Johnson’s
baseline jumper rimmed out, but Himes
grabbed the backside rebound and put it
right back up as the buzzer sounded with it
going through to complete the
come-from-behind 80-79 victory for the Lady
Cougars.
"I am seriously overjoyed at the fact that
we somehow pulled it together in the second
half to get the game to overtime,” said
Gregory. "And the thrill of coming back from
a seven-point deficit in overtime to win on
a last-second stick-back is amazing.”
"The second half was a much different story
than the first half as we took better care
of the ball and seemed to regain our
composure, and more importantly, our legs,”
Gregory continued. "Amanda had a monster
game which included numerous offensive
rebounds and stick-backs. Kelli (Pollock)
buried a huge tray late to send the game to
overtime as we battled back from a deficit
most of the second half.”
"We scored the first bucket of overtime and
then made some critical mistakes and allowed
(Northwestern Ohio) to jump out to what
seemed to be an insurmountable lead,” said
Gregory. "The kids battled back, though, and
made some big plays.”
 Himes
finished with a career-high 29 points and 21
rebounds as she tied the school record for
field goal attempts in a game as she went
14-for-30 from the field to equal the mark
set by former MVNU standout and current Lady
Cougar softball coach Jeana Howald who also
attempted 30 shots in a game against Mount
Union College on February 24, 1979.
Fletcher added 18 points and four steals,
while Steveley contributed 10 points off the
bench. Jokela (right) also
grabbed 11 rebounds, and Pollock tossed in
nine points. The Lady Cougars posted a
commanding 63-40 rebounding advantage
including 30 offensive rebounds with Himes
grabbing 13 boards herself. MVNU, which tied
a school record with 92 field goal attempts
in the game, shot 39.1 percent from the
field (36-for-92), 16.7 percent from
three-point range (3-for-18), and 55.6
percent from the free throw line (5-for-9).
"I’m very proud of the effort and intensity
our players put forth,” said Gregory. "They
had to dig deep in the second half and had
to pull themselves out of a hole. They did
just that and never gave up. That is why
this team is very special.”
"Kellie (Jokela) didn’t put up a lot of
points, but her rebounding, intensity, and
defense were outstanding,” Gregory
continued. "I’m convinced that without her
outstanding effort we would not have won
today. That could be said about a lot of
people today. Amanda and Sierra were very
good and critical to our offense and defense
as was Lauren and Kelli (Pollock). Our bench
showed up and made plays as well. The kids
who didn’t play also played a critical role
in encouraging and lifting up teammates as
well as communicating vital things to our
defense which was on the opposite end of the
floor in the second half and overtime.”
Jackson finished with 27 points, eight
assists, and seven rebounds to lead
Northwestern Ohio, while Francis finished
with 19 points and five steals. French also
contributed 14 points. The Lady Racers shot
39.2 percent from the field (29-for-74), 25
percent from three-point range (9-for-36),
and 75 percent from the free throw line
(12-for-16).
The Lady Cougars, who have now won seven
straight games, will look to continue their
winning streak on Saturday when MVNU will
travel to NAIA Division II No. 3 Cedarville
University for another AMC contest that will
tip off at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Jackets (23-3,
14-1 AMC) won the earlier meeting this year
between the teams 69-58 on January 19th in
Mount Vernon.
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