Lady Cougars Fall 70-48 to No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan


	Lady Cougar Basketball Game Recap Lady Cougars Fall 70-48 to No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (1-28-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's basketball team dug itself a big hole in the first half and could never recover as the Lady Cougars fell 70-48 to NAIA Division II No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan University in Mid-Central College Conference action on Saturday afternoon in the Physical Education Center. After MVNU (11-11, 3-9 MCC) got a jumper from senior post Whitney Levering to start the game, the visiting Lady Wildcats (22-2, 11-1 MCC) rattled off the next 11 points to take an 11-2 lead by the 14:19 mark as Krystal Stoneking led the way with six points. A jumper by junior guard Melissa Eickholt ended a 6:11 scoring drought to pull the Lady Cougars within 11-4 with 12:58 to play in the half, but Indiana Wesleyan responded with a 24-11 run to close the half as the Lady Wildcats took a 35-15 lead to the locker room at the break as Teneil Krebs nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Senior forward Alexis Harkins *(left)* led MVNU with four points and six rebounds in the first half, while Levering and Eickholt also added four points apiece. The Lady Cougars shot 29.2 percent from the field (7-for-24), missed all five of their 3-point attempts, and went just 1-for-3 at the free throw line (33.3 percent). They also committed 12 turnovers. Stoneking led Indiana Wesleyan with 14 points, while Rachel Steinbarger hit a pair of treys for six points. The Lady Wildcats shot 57.7 percent from the field (15-for-26), 30 percent from 3-point range (3-for-10), 66.7 percent from the free throw line (2-for-3). Indiana Wesleyan expanded its lead to 45-18 over the first 5:20 of the second half, but MVNU did not give in as the Lady Cougars answered with six straight points to pull within 45-24 at the 11:55 mark. The Lady Wildcats lead grew back to 62-35 with 5:32 to play, but again MVNU battled back to within 66-48 after a pair of free throws by freshman forward Ainsleigh Krause with 50 seconds to go. Indiana Wesleyan went on to score the final four points to complete the 70-48 victory. Harkins led the Lady Cougars with a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Fletcher and Daniels added eight points apiece. Levering also contributed seven points and eight rebounds. MVNU shot 26.9 percent from the field (14-for-52), just 6.7 percent from 3-point range (1-for-15), and 76 percent from the free throw line (19-for-25). The Lady Cougars out-rebounded Indiana Wesleyan 33-29 for the game. Stoneking led the Lady Wildcats with 21 points, while Stephanie Burtch added 11 points. Paige Smith also came off the bench to contribute eight points, and Steinbarger grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go with six points. Indiana Wesleyan shot 58.7 percent from the field (27-for-46), 42.9 percent from 3-point range (6-for-14), and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (10-for-15). "(Indiana Wesleyan) did not want to lose two in a row," said MVNU coach Jason Foster. "They are a great team. They are solid in their offensive sets, they are solid in their defensive sets, you don't rattle them, they are aggressive, and they pursue. They are a complete basketball team and to beat a team like that you have to play a complete game. Defensively, we kept going at them. We battled with them on the boards. However, offensively, we let them dictate where we could go and it forced us to hurry some shots." "I'm proud of the effort that we gave," Foster continued. "I thought we were right there with them. They knew that they were going to have to play a full 40 minutes to really get us. They are not the No. 1 team in the country by mistake. They are good at what they do and they do it consistently. It's hard to get them to get out of that. In the first half, we just did not give ourselves a real chance on the offensive side. If you did a hole against them, then you are going to be in trouble." The Lady Cougars will return to action on Wednesday when MVNU travels to Bethel (Ind.) College for another MCC contest that is slated to tip off at 6 p.m.

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