Lady Cougars Post Road Win at Cincinnati-Clermont


	Lady Cougar Basketball Game Recap Lady Cougars Post Road Win at Cincinnati-Clermont written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore BATAVIA, Ohio (12-27-2011) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's basketball team used a 9-0 run over the final 2:40 of the first half to build a cushion heading to the break as the Lady Cougars held off host University of Cincinnati-Clermont 64-49 for a non-conference road win on Tuesday night. The game went back and forth at the start as MVNU (8-3) got a 3-pointer each from senior guard Sierra Fletcher, junior guard Melissa Eickholt *(left), and senior guard Ashley Jessie as the score was knotted at 9-9 after the first five minutes of action. Five quick points from senior forward Alexis Harkins pushed the Lady Cougars' lead to 14-9 by the 13:54 mark, and the lead grew to as much as nine points on two different occasions following free throws by both senior post Whitney Levering and Eickholt. Cincinnati-Clermont (11-9) closed the gap back to 28-23 after a jumper by Ashley Keith with 2:40 to play, but MVNU scored the final nine points of the half to take a 37-23 lead to the locker room at the break. Harkins, Eickholt, and Levering each made a basket, while junior guard Camaranne Myles came off the bench and drained a trey. Eickholt paced the Lady Cougars with 10 first-half points as she went 3-for-4 from the field and made both of her 3-point attempts. Harkins added seven points and seven rebounds, and Fletcher also tossed in six points to go with four assists and four rebounds. MVNU shot 35.3 percent from the field (12-for-34), 42.9 percent from 3-point range (6-for-14), and 58.3 percent from the free throw line (7-for-12). The Lady Cougars held a 25-20 rebounding advantage including grabbing 12 offensive caroms. Marisa Stutz led Cincinnati-Clermont with eight points and four rebounds, while Tess Jenike added seven points. Cincinnati-Clermont shot 30 percent from the field (9-for-30), 33.3 percent from 3-point range (1-for-3), and made all four of its free throw attempts. MVNU's lead grew to 44-27 just three minutes into the second half when junior forward Emily Steveley drained a 3-pointer. However, Cincinnati-Clermont began to whittle away at the lead and four times pulled as close as 10 points with the final time coming 52-42 on a jumper by Brooke Catauro with 7:50 to play. The Lady Cougars answered the call, though, as MVNU went on a 12-3 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 64-45 on a jumper by Jessie with 1:54 left. From there, the Lady Cougars would go on to post the 64-49 victory. Eickholt finished with a game-high 14 points to lead MVNU, while Harkins just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Fletcher contributed 10 points, five assists, four steals, and four rebounds, and Levering added eight points, six rebounds, five steals, and four blocked shots. Jessie (right)* also came off the bench to score nine points. The Lady Cougars shot 36.1 percent from the field (22-for-61), 30.4 percent from 3-point range (7-for-23), and 72.2 percent from the free throw line (13-for-18). Jenike led Cincinnati-Clermont with 13 points, while Stutz finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Cincinnati-Clermont shot 33.3 percent from the field (19-for-57), 14.3 percent from 3-point range (1-for-7), and 58.8 percent from the free throw line (10-for-17). "We battled back and gutted this one out," said MVNU coach Jason Foster. "It shows that we've been off for a week (for Christmas) as we weren't nearly as crisp offensively, but we made plays when we had to. We got good efforts from a lot of people. Probably it was most noticeable in the final 10 minutes when we decided to rebound the ball defensively. That made a big difference for us when we made a defensive stand and then was able to get the ball back." "Ashley has been getting better and better each time out," said Foster of his back-up point guard. "She is taking a little more ownership in what is going on and feeling a little more confident in what we are trying to do. She doesn't look to score, but when she has the opportunity she can put the ball in the hole. For Melissa, it was just a matter of time before she was going to have a breakout game. She takes good shots and makes great plays. I think she may have been pressing early on this season, but today she just settled in and made things happen." The Lady Cougars will continue their three-game, four-day road trip by traveling to Trinity International (Ill.) University near Chicago. MVNU will take on the host team at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday and will then face Concordia (Ill.) University at 1 p.m. on Friday in the two-day tournament. "This will be a tough tournament for us," said Foster. "Trinity International plays a high tempo, high pressure brand of basketball and we are going to have to do a lot better job of taking care of the basketball. Concordia is another good, balanced team with size and the ability to run the floor well. It will be a tough challenge for us."

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