Second-Half Shooting Woes Cost Lady Cougars in 61-52 Loss


	Lady Cougar Basketball Game Recap Second-Half Shooting Woes Cost Lady Cougars in 61-52 Loss written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore FORT WAYNE, Ind. (1-7-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's basketball team shot just 16 percent from the field in the second half as the Lady Cougars saw a 12-point first-half lead turn into a 61-52 loss at the University of Saint Francis in Mid-Central College Conference action on Saturday afternoon. With the score knotted at 10-10 after the first seven minutes of action, MVNU (9-7, 1-5 MCC) used a 13-1 run to build a 23-11 lead by the 7:13 mark. Senior guard Sierra Fletcher led the surge with seven points, while senior forward Alexis Harkins *(left)* added four points. However, Saint Francis began to whittle away at the lead and the host Lady Cougars were able to pull within 29-26 by the time that the first half buzzer sounded. Harkins led MVNU with 10 first-half points, while Fletcher and sophomore post Amy Daniels added nine and eight points respectively. The visiting Lady Cougars shot 50 percent from the field (12-for-24), 20 percent from 3-point range (1-for-5), and 100 percent at the free throw line (4-for-4). Kayla Drake and Meghan Prible each scored seven points to lead Saint Francis in the first half. The host Lady Cougars shot 30.8 percent from the field (8-for-26), 25 percent from 3-point range (3-for-12), and 77.8 percent from the free throw line (7-for-9). Harkins made a pair of free throws to get the scoring under way to start the second half as MVNU's lead grew back to 31-26. However, by the 10-minute mark, Saint Francis had moved on top 47-38 as the visiting Lady Cougars went just 2-for-10 from the field and committed 10 turnovers. MVNU was able to pull within 47-42 with 8:27 to play, but a 10-2 surge by Saint Francis gave the host Lady Cougars their biggest lead of the game at 57-44 with 2:59 left on the clock. From that point on, MVNU would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way as Saint Francis prevailed 61-52. Harkins led the visiting Lady Cougars with 17 points that including a 9-for-10 showing at the free throw line. Fletcher added 15 points, four steals, four assists, and five rebounds, and Daniels finished with 10 points, six rebounds, and five steals. MVNU shot 32.7 percent from the field for the game (16-for-49) and went just 4-for-25 in the second half including 0-for-9 from long range to finish just 1-for-14 from 3-point range in the game (7.1 percent). The Lady Cougars did connect on 86.4 percent of their free throw attempts (19-for-22). Kayla Mullins led Saint Francis with 16 points, while Drake added 12 points. Jenelle Wilson tossed in 11 points, and Prible finished with 10 points. Myqueisha Bratton also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Saint Francis shot 36 percent from the field (18-for-50), 25 percent from 3-point range (5-for-20), and 83.3 percent from the free throw line (20-for-24). "After six games in two weeks, I think that fatigue got the best of us in the second half today," said MVNU coach Jason Foster. "The girls played hard and put together a good defensive effort as they held (Saint Francis) 15 to 20 points below their season average. But, you still have to put the ball in the basket. We rushed a lot of open looks, missed some easy ones, and stood around on the offensive end. One of the things that this team does well is create for each other and today we did not do that. When it comes right down to it, Saint Francis took this game away and won it by doing the things they do well." "We have now dug ourselves into a bit of a hole in a strong conference," Foster continued. "We need to really dig in and work on getting ourselves over this hump and finishing this season strong and be the team that no one wants to play again." The Lady Cougars will return to action on Wednesday when they will travel to Spring Arbor (Mich.) University for another MCC game that will begin at 7 p.m.

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