Late Run Leads Taylor to 64-55 Win over Lady Cougars


	Lady Cougar Basketball Game Recap Late Run Leads Taylor to 64-55 Win over Lady Cougars written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore UPLAND, Ind. (1-25-2012) - After battling back from a 13-point first-half lead to trail by just two points with 5:18 left in the game on the road, the Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's basketball team gave up 11 straight points on the way to falling 64-55 in Mid-Central College Conference action in Odle Arena at Taylor (Ind.) University on Wednesday evening. A 3-pointer by senior guard Sierra Fletcher and a pair of baskets by sophomore post Amy Daniels *(left)* staked the visiting Lady Cougars (11-10, 3-8 MCC) to an early 7-2 lead less than three minutes into the contest. However, the host Lady Trojans (16-7, 6-5 MCC) responded with 15 straight points to take a 17-7 lead by the 13:43 mark of the first half as Kelsey Bryant led the surge with nine points including a pair of treys. MVNU finally ended a nearly four-minute scoring drought with a basket by Fletcher at the 13:27 mark, but Taylor continued to build its lead until it reached 32-19 on a basket by Tess Rudolph with 3:03 left before the break. From there, the Lady Cougars scored the final six points of the half to pull within 32-25 as the teams went to the locker rooms at the break. Daniels led MVNU with eight points in the first half as the Lady Cougars shot 34.6 percent from the field (9-for-26), 9.1 percent from 3-point range (1-for-11), and 75 percent at the free throw line (6-for-8). Bryant paced the Lady Trojans with 11 first-half points as Taylor shot a blistering 60.9 percent from the field (14-for-23), 66.7 percent from 3-point range (2-for-3), and 40 percent from the free throw line (2-for-5). MVNU continued to claw away at the lead as the Lady Cougars pulled within 38-37 on a basket by Daniels with six minutes gone by in the second half. However, the Lady Trojans responded with a 11-2 run to extend their advantage back to 49-39 with 9:26 to go. Once again, MVNU battled back to trim the lead to 53-51 on a basket by Daniels with 5:18 remaining as Taylor committed seven turnovers to help the Lady Cougars' comeback cause. However, MVNU would commit four turnovers of its own and go 0-for-3 from the field over the next 4:25 as the Lady Trojans went on an 11-0 run to take a 64-51 lead. Freshman guard Sarah Shirey ended the drought with 53 seconds remaining, but the damage had been done and Taylor prevailed 64-55. Daniels led the Lady Cougars with 18 points and five rebounds as she went 8-for-9 from the field. Fletcher added 15 points, while senior forward Alexis Harkins tossed in eight points. MVNU shot 38.9 percent from the field (21-for-54), just 10.5 percent from 3-point range (2-for-19), and 84.6 percent from the free throw line (11-for-13). The Lady Cougars allowed 20 points off their 20 turnovers. Erika Redweik paced the Lady Trojans with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Bryant finished with 19 points. Taylor shot 54.2 percent from the field (26-for-48), 28.6 percent from 3-point range (2-for-7), and 71.4 percent from the free throw line (10-for-14). The Lady Trojans also posted a 32-24 rebounding advantage. "The road teaches a lot of lessons if you are willing to learn from them," said MVNU coach Jason Foster. "Up to this point, I can't say that we have learned enough of them. We have good individual efforts, but it was not enough. We got good scoring from Sierra and Amy, but we had a hard time getting others involved in the offense. Defensively, we seemed to be chasing and following Taylor in most of their offensive possessions. They were more aggressive to the ball and brought more life to the game than we did." "We really need to understand that to win on the road and in this conference, you must play 40 minutes of team basketball," Foster added. "Tonight, we did not do that. We had moments of great team ball, just not enough of them." The Lady Cougars will look to bounce back on Saturday when MVNU will host NAIA Division II No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan University in another MCC game that will tip off at 1 p.m. In the earlier meeting between these two teams on the Lady Wildcats' home floor, the Lady Cougars nearly pulled off a big upset as they fell 67-65 on December 3.

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