The road-weary Lady Cougars (3-0) shot just 35.5 percent from the field in the first half (11-for-31), committed 12 turnovers, and were outrebounded 17-10, but MVNU still managed to take a 27-20 lead to the locker room at the break. Freshman guard Sierra Fletcher (left) led the way for the Lady Cougars with 10 first-half points, while junior post Amanda Himes added six points. Samantha Ciani led the Spires (2-4) with 11 points as Saint Mary shot just 35.3 percent from the field in the first half.

MVNU was able to maintain its margin throughout the second half although the Spires closed the gap to just two points with just over four minutes remaining. However, the Lady Cougars made plays when they needed to and went 10-for-11 at the free throw line in the second half (90.9 percent) to post the 65-51 victory.

"I am very proud of the fortitude that the kids put forward tonight,” said MVNU coach Steve Gregory. "Our whole day was shot by the bus breaking down, but to our players’ credit they did not let that excuse hinder their play.”

"We were very sluggish in the first half and got stuck on 17 points for what seemed to be an eternity,” Gregory continued. "It was an offensive struggle for us in the first half. On the other side, our defense was outstanding. We did very little trickery as our base man-to-man defense was extremely effective tonight. We had a bit of the turnover bug in the first half, but we cleaned up our play in the second half. It was a two-point game with four minutes remaining and our kids fought hard and made offensive plays, forced turnovers, and made some big shots including free throws down the stretch.”

Fletcher finished with a game-high 24 points to lead the Lady Cougars as she nailed a trio of three-pointers and went 5-for-5 at the free throw line. Freshman forward Emily Steveley and junior guard Lauren Johnson each tossed in eight points apiece with Steveley and Himes both grabbing a team-high six rebounds apiece. Sophomore guard Gabby Fowler also scored seven points off the bench. MVNU shot 40.7 percent from the field (24-for-59), 25 percent from three-point range (5-for-20), and 92.3 percent from the free throw line (12-for-13).

"Sierra was a huge sparkplug for us tonight,” said Gregory. "She played well on both ends of the floor. Amanda was in foul trouble all night, but she made some huge defensive plays for us over the last four minutes. Alexis (Harkins) and Lauren along with Emily played very well together and gave us a huge lift. Kellie (Jokela) and Courtney (Swart) were also in foul trouble most of the night, and it was nice for our kids to find creative ways to score without them having to be on the floor.”

Ciani finished with 21 points and eight rebounds to lead Saint Mary, while Rani Jacobs was also in double figures with 14 points. The Spires shot 36.4 percent from the field (16-for-44), 16.7 percent from three-point range (2-for-12), and 73.9 percent from the free throw line (17-for-23). Saint Mary also committed 29 turnovers.

The Lady Cougars will have a quick turnaround for their next game when MVNU takes on Bethel (Kan.) College (4-2) at 1:00 p.m. CST on Saturday afternoon. The Threshers downed host Stephens College 62-58 in Friday’s other game.