Lady Cougars' Defense Leads to 79-57 Win over Goshen


	Lady Cougar Basketball Game Recap Lady Cougars' Defense Leads to 79-57 Win over Goshen written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (1-18-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's basketball team forced 28 turnovers and turned them into 37 points as the Lady Cougars snapped a six-game losing streak with a 79-57 victory over Goshen (Ind.) College in Mid-Central College Conference play on Wednesday night. After playing eight of its last nine games on the road, MVNU (10-9, 2-7 MCC) started out well in the friendly confines of the Physical Education Center as senior forward Alexis Harkins *(left)* scored the team's first six points and junior guard Melissa Eickholt added five points as the Lady Cougars built an early 11-4 lead just over four minutes into the contest. After the visiting Maple Leafs (3-18, 0-9 MCC) battled to tie the game at 13-13 at the 10:59 mark, Harkins added six more points to lead a 16-4 surge that gave MVNU a 29-17 advantage with 4:57 left in the half. Goshen closed the gap to 29-23 with 4:06 to play, but the Lady Cougars went on a 15-2 run to take a commanding 44-25 lead heading to the locker room at the break. Harkins nearly outscored the Maple Leafs all by herself in the first half as she poured in 19 points to go with six rebounds. Sophomore post Amy Daniels added 11 points and four rebounds, and Eickholt also tossed in nine points and grabbed four rebounds. MVNU shot 39 percent from the field (16-for-41), 22.2 percent from 3-point range (2-for-9), and made all 10 of its free throw attempts. The Lady Cougars also forced 17 turnovers and committed just three miscues themselves. Jaime Stack and Kari Heusinkveld each scored eight points in the first half to lead Goshen with Stack grabbing a team-high six rebounds. The Maple Leafs shot 40 percent from the field (8-for-20), 50 percent from 3-point range (1-for-2), and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (8-for-12). Due to the 17 turnovers, Goshen took 21 less shots than MVNU in the first half. The Maple Leafs went on a 9-2 run to start the second half as Goshen pulled within 46-34 with just three minutes gone by. However, over the next 10 minutes, the Lady Cougars answered with a 21-12 surge of their own as MVNU built a 67-46 cushion with 7:14 remaining and never looked back on the way to the 79-57 victory. Harkins finished with a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds, while Daniels added 17 points and eight rebounds. Eickholt also tossed in 13 points and grabbed six rebounds, and freshman forward Ainsleigh Krause contributed eight points off the bench. The Lady Cougars shot 40.5 percent from the field (30-for-74), 18.8 percent from 3-point range (3-for-16), and 80 percent from the free throw line (16-for-20). Senior guard Sierra Fletcher, MVNU's leading scorer, was limited to just two points as she attempted just one shot as the Maple Leafs focused their defensive efforts on stopping her. Stack led Goshen with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Sierria Burlage added 11 points and nine rebounds. The Maple Leafs shot 47.6 percent from the field (20-for-42), 50 percent from 3-point range (4-for-8), and 65 percent from the free throw line (13-for-20). Goshen ended up taking 32 less field goal attempts than MVNU due to committing 28 turnovers. The Lady Cougars also posted a 23-8 advantage in offensive rebounds resulting in a 22-6 edge in second chance points. "It was good to be home," said MVNU coach Jason Foster. "It was good to get a win to get us geared up for the second round of conference play. (Goshen) did a good job of taking Sierra completely out of the game. That was their game plan and they executed it. Fortunately, we had other people step into the gap. Alexis had a great game, Amy stepped up, Melissa was hitting shots, and (senior guard) Ashley (Jessie) really controlled the floor as the point guard. Defensively, we were right there once again. Offensively, we executed and were able to get some shots to fall. We were able to exploit some of their weaknesses and it turned out in a good way for us. Hopefully, we can carry that into the weekend and our next game." The Lady Cougars will return to action on Saturday at 1 p.m. when MVNU will get a rematch with NAIA Division II No. 18 Grace (Ind.) College in the Physical Education Center as the second round of MCC play gets under way. The Lady Cougars suffered their first loss of the year 77-65 at Grace back on November 22.

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