Lady Cougars Rally for NCCAA East Region Title


	Lady Cougar Basketball Game Recap Lady Cougars Rally for NCCAA East Region Title written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (3-3-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's basketball team rallied from a seven-point second-half deficit to post a 67-62 victory over Roberts Wesleyan (N.Y.) College in the championship game of the National Christian College Athletic Association East Region Tournament on Saturday evening in the Physical Education Center. The top-seeded Lady Cougars (17-13) jumped out to an early 7-4 lead after the first five minutes as junior guard Ashley Jessie nailed a 3-pointer and senior forward Alexis Harkins and senior post Whitney Levering each added a basket. The visiting Lady Raiders (21-11), who were the No. 2 seed in the tournament, answered with a 12-5 run to take a 16-12 advantage with 7:42 left in the half. There were four ties and two lead changes over the next four minutes with the score knotted at 22-22 with just under four minutes remaining before the break. Then, Roberts Wesleyan closed the half on a 7-3 spurt to take a 29-25 advantage to the locker room at the break. Harkins led MVNU with 10 points, four rebounds, and four steals in the first half, while Fletcher added six points. Sophomore post Amy Daniels also grabbed five rebounds. The Lady Cougars shot just 28.1 percent from the field (9-for-32), 25 percent from 3-point range (3-for-12), and 80 percent from the free throw line (4-for-5). Marissa Sell led the Lady Raiders with eight points and six rebounds off the bench as she went 4-for-4 from the field. Sarah Child also contributed six points. Roberts Wesleyan shot 44.4 percent from the field (12-for-27), 25 percent from 3-point range (2-for-8), and 60 percent from the free throw line (3-for-5). The Lady Raiders' bench also out-scored MVNU's reserves 12-0 in the first half. Roberts Wesleyan opened the second half with a 3-pointer by Ashley Cianfriglia and still led 34-27 with less than a minute gone by. However, the Lady Cougars used an 11-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 38-36 lead on a jumper by Fletcher with 13:57 still left in the contest. After the Lady Raiders moved back on top 41-40 on a 3-pointer by Marissa Bunce, MVNU freshman guard Courtney Christie came off the bench and drained a trey at the 12-minute mark to regain the lead 43-41 for the Lady Cougars. From that point on, MVNU led the rest of the way. Roberts Wesleyan pulled within 52-51 at the 6:31 mark and 64-62 with 13.1 seconds to go. The Lady Cougars were able to polish off the win by going 3-for-4 at the free throw line and registering a steal on the one miss as MVNU prevailed 67-62 to earn the program's third trip to the NCCAA National Tournament in the past four years and the first NCCAA East Region title since 2000. Levering *(right)* led four Lady Cougars in double figures with 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Harkins finished with 15 points, six rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Fletcher and Daniels each added 10 points apiece with Fletcher also contributing seven steals, six assists, and six steals, and Christie tallied a key seven points and three rebounds in nine minutes of action. MVNU shot 40.3 percent from the field (25-for-62), 33.3 percent from 3-point range (7-for-21), and 71.4 percent from the free throw line (10-for-14). The Lady Cougars also posted a 41-35 rebounding advantage. Sell finished with 22 points and eight rebounds off the bench for Roberts Wesleyan as she went 11-for-15 from the field. Child added 10 points and six rebounds, and Cianfriglia tossed in nine points. The Lady Raiders shot 42.6 percent from the field (26-for-61), 25 percent from 3-point range (4-for-16), and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (6-for-9). "It took a little bit of time to get us going, but fortunately our defense held them to keep us within striking distance," said MVNU coach Jason Foster, whose team had been off for 11 days since bowing out of the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament. "It took a little bit of time for us to get rolling after the time off, but the seniors led us and were not willing to let the season finish here. They really stepped up and played a really solid game. We had good contributions from everyone tonight. We've had kids sick and we've got a couple who are hurt, but other people stepped in and gave us that boost. We were able to do some things well. We'll have to work to get a little more consistent, but we are moving on." "Winning the NCCAA East Region title is a nice accomplishment," Foster continued. "To go to a national tournament (three NCCAA National Tournaments and one NAIA Division II National Tournament) is a big accomplishment and that is what Lexi (Harkins) has now done in her career the past four years. The team wanted to keep going and showed that tonight. Now, we just have to wait and see how our matchups play out and see what we can do." The NCCAA National Tournament will take place at Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind. with games on March 14-17. More details about who and when the Lady Cougars will play next will be released on cougars.mvnu.edu and the MVNU sports Facebook and Twitter feeds when they become available next weekend. The Lady Cougars have won three prior NCCAA national titles in 1994, 2001, and 2009.

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