Lady Cougars Hold Off No. 21 Huntington 63-61


	Lady Cougar Basketball Game Recap Lady Cougars Hold Off No. 21 Huntington 63-61 written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (2-4-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's basketball team pulled out a 63-61 victory over NAIA Division II No. 21 Huntington (Ind.) University in Mid-Central College Conference action on Saturday afternoon in the Physical Education Center. After falling 60-59 at Huntington back on January 5 in the first meeting between the two teams this season, the Lady Cougars (12-12, 4-10 MCC) came out of the gate with a sense of urgency and purpose as MVNU built a 23-7 lead over the first 10 minutes by going by making 10 of their first 11 field goal attempts including nine in a row at one point. However, the visiting Lady Foresters (15-9, 7-7 MCC) showed why they are nationally ranked by battling back. Trailing 29-16 with 6:25 remaining before the half, Huntington was able to close the gap to 33-30 by the break with a 14-4 run. One of the big plays during the surge was a 35-foot banked in 3-pointer by Kelsey Green just ahead of the shot clock buzzer with 4:29 to go. Senior forward Alexis Harkins *(left)* led the Lady Cougars with 11 points and five rebounds in the first half, while sophomore post Amy Daniels added eight points. MVNU shot 55.6 percent from the field (15-for-27), 28.6 percent from 3-point range (2-for-7), and 33.3 percent from the free throw line (1-for-3). The Lady Cougars held an 18-10 rebounding advantage, but 11 turnovers were turned into nine points by the Lady Foresters. Huntington was led by Allison Greene with nine first-half points, while Green added seven points. The Lady Foresters shot 43.5 percent from the field (10-for-23), 25 percent from 3-point range (2-for-8), and 50 percent from the free throw line (8-for-16). MVNU opened up a 46-41 lead by the 12:50 mark of the second half, but Huntington answered with a 9-3 run to take its first lead of the game on a pair of free throws by Green with 8:03 left in the contest. After a turnover by each team, senior guard Sierra Fletcher gave the Lady Cougars the lead again with a pair of free throws of her own with 7:19 remaining, and MVNU moved back on top 61-55 with 3:20 to go as Fletcher, Harkins, and junior post Courtney Swart each scored four points apiece. At that point, the Lady Cougars went cold from the field as they missed four straight shots to allow the Lady Foresters to get back into the game with a six straight points to knot the score at 61-61 on two more free throws by Green with 56 seconds still on the clock. With the shot clock about to expire, Daniels missed a jumper, but Fletcher was there to grab the rebound with 26 seconds remaining as MVNU was able to play for the final shot if the Lady Cougars chose to do so. Following a timeout with 15.7 seconds left, MVNU put the ball in the hands of Fletcher, the team's leading scorer, and she drove into the lane with time winding down and tossed up a twisting jumper that when in with 3.3 seconds remaining despite the fact that she was fouled. She missed the free throw attempt that would have put the Lady Cougars up by three points, but Huntington was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded as MVNU prevailed 63-61 for its second win over a Top 25 team in the past two weeks. Harkins was the lone Lady Cougar to reach double figures as she finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Fletcher scored nine points and dished out four assists. Daniels and senior post Whitney Levering each scored eight points apiece with Daniels grabbing a game-high eight rebounds, and Swart contributed seven big points off the bench. MVNU shot 46.6 percent from the field (27-for-58), 14.3 percent from 3-point range (2-for-14), and 70 percent from the free throw line (7-for-10). The Lady Cougars held a 36-27 rebounding advantage and a 36-14 edge in points in the paint. Greene finished with a game-high 25 points to pace the Lady Foresters, while Green and Pazia Speed tallied 13 and 11 points respectively with Green grabbing seven rebounds. Huntington shot 41.7 percent from the field (20-for-48), 35.7 percent from 3-point range (5-for-14), and just 59.3 percent from the free throw line (16-for-27) despite entering the game ranked fourth in NAIA Division II by shooting 75.4 percent from the charity stripe. "This was a very physical game from start to finish and our girls played hard," said MVNU coach Jason Foster. "I think that by changing things up and doing some things that we don't usually do may have caught (Huntington) a little off-guard, but they kept coming at us. They exploited some of our breakdowns, attacked, and got to the foul line. Our girls kept pace and kept fighting and this time we were able to finish off another close game against them by winning instead of losing by one point." "We have a nice stretch remaining," Foster continued. "We can get a little bit of rest this weekend and then get ready to hit the road for the last time before finishing off with three really strong home contests. I think we are poised to surprise a few folks, but we have to put the work in. I think we put the work in today and a consistent effort, and the players weren't willing to let this one get away from them." The Lady Cougars will play their final road game of the regular season on Wednesday when MVNU travels to Goshen (Ind.) College for another MCC contest that will tip off at 7 p.m.

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