Lady Cougars Fall 67-51 to No. 2 Seed Cedarville in Semifinals


	Lady Cougar Basketball Game Recap Lady Cougars Fall 67-51 to No. 2 Seed Cedarville in Semifinals written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore WINONA LAKE, Ind. (3-15-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's basketball team fell in its bid for a second straight upset at the National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament on Thursday afternoon as the Lady Cougars lost 67-51 to No. 2 seed Cedarville University in the Orthopaedic Capital Center at Grace (Ind.) College. After the two teams traded baskets over the first six and a half minutes with the sixth-seeded Lady Cougars (18-14) leading 6-4, the Lady Jackets (24-7) rattled off 14 straight points to build an 18-6 advantage by the 9:56 mark. Deborah Gordon led the surge with six points. Cedarville's lead grew to as much as 16 points on two occasions in the first half with the final one coming at 30-14 with 2:19 left before the break. MVNU was able to close the gap to 30-20, though, as senior forward Alexis Harkins, junior guard Melissa Eickholt, and senior guard Sierra Fletcher *(left)* each made a basket before the teams went to the locker rooms. Harkins led the Lady Cougars with six first-half points and seven rebounds, while Fletcher added five points and 10 rebounds. MVNU shot just 23.3 percent from the field (7-for-30), 12.5 percent from 3-point range (1-for-8), and 62.5 percent from the free throw line (5-for-8). Gordon paced Cedarville with 13 points off the bench as she went 4-for-4 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line. The Lady Jackets shot 33.3 percent from the field (11-for-33), 11.1 percent from 3-point range (1-for-9), and 77.8 percent from the charity stripe (7-for-9). After Cedarville's lead grew to 36-25 two minutes into the second half, the Lady Cougars used a 14-3 run to knot the score at 39-39 with 12:05 to go on a three-point play by senior post Whitney Levering. However, the Lady Jackets responded with seven unanswered points to fuel what would be a 28-8 run as Cedarville took command of the game while building its biggest lead of the game at 67-47 with 2:18 remaining on the way to posting the 67-51 victory to advance to the NCCAA National Tournament championship game. Harkins finished with a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds as she posted a double-double in what would be the final game of her outstanding career as she will miss the team's third-place game due to going on a mission trip. Fletcher added 11 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, five assists, and three steals, and Levering tallied seven points. MVNU shot 31.7 percent from the field (20-for-63), 13.3 percent from 3-point range (2-for-15), and 56.3 percent from the free throw line (9-for-16). Gordon led four Cedarville players in double figures with 16 points, while Becky Orchard added 13 points. Kayla Jenerette posted 12 points and nine rebounds, and Kara Cayton scored 10 points. The Lady Jackets shot 35.7 percent from the field (20-for-56), 33.3 percent from 3-point range (6-for-18), and 70 percent from the free throw line (21-for-30). "(Cedarville) is a strong and balanced team," said MVNU coach Jason Foster. "We really fought hard to stay with them. They can run a little and can score inside and out. Our girls fought to make it a game. I think that our defense played well, but we just needed a little more toughness to really take control of the game. We also gave the ball away too much with 20 turnovers, and against a team that can turn your mistakes into points it is hard to recover from that." "Alexis played two really good games here," added Foster of his senior who wraps up her career. "She led us in scoring and rebounding in both games. She will be missed on Saturday when we get after it again to close out the year." The Lady Cougars will square off with Mid-Central College Conference foe No. 5 seed Grace on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. in the third-place game. The host Lady Lancers (19-15) fell 66-53 to No. 8 seed Colorado Christian University in Thursday's other semifinal game.

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