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Lady Cougar Basketball Game Recap
Lady Cougars Finish Fourth at NCCAA
National Tournament
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director
Game Boxscore
WINONA LAKE, Ind. (3-17-2012) - The Mount
Vernon Nazarene University women's
basketball team finished fourth out of eight
teams at the National Christian College
Athletic Association National Tournament as
the No. 6 seed Lady Cougars fell 59-49 to
host and No. 5 seed Grace (Ind.) College on
Saturday morning in the Orthopaedic Capital
Center.
The game started out back and forth with
MVNU (18-15) holding a slim 12-11 lead after
the first 10 minutes of action.
Then, the Lady Lancers (20-14) rattled off
nine straight points to take a 20-12
advantage at the 5:47 mark. The Lady Cougars
went 0-for-5 during this span and also
committed four turnovers.
With Grace still leading 25-17 with 1:33
left before the break, MVNU scored the final
four points of the half to pull within 25-21
as the teams went to the locker rooms.
 Senior
guard Sierra Fletcher (left)
led the Lady Cougars by scoring 13 of the
team's 21 points as she nailed a trio of
3-pointers. Senior post Whitney Levering
also grabbed seven rebounds. MVNU shot 31.6
percent from the field (6-for-19), 33.3
percent from 3-point range (3-for-9), and 75
percent from the free throw line (6-for-8).
The Lady Cougars also committed 17 turnovers
over the first 20 minutes, but they did hold
a 19-14 rebounding advantage as well.
Hayley Cashier led the Lady Lancers with
seven first-half points, while Hannah Lengel
added six points. Grace shot 30 percent from
the field (9-for-30), 30 percent from
3-point range (3-for-10), and 50 percent
from the free throw line (4-for-8).
The Lady Cougars kept their momentum going
to start the second half as MVNU battled
back to take the lead 35-34 on a 3-pointer
by junior forward Emily Steveley at the
14:18 mark.
However, the Lady Lancers responded with a
17-5 run over the next 10 minutes to take a
51-40 lead with 4:45 remaining in the game.
From that point on, the Lady Cougars could
get no closer than seven points the rest of
the way as Grace prevailed 59-49.
Fletcher, who was named to the NCCAA
All-National Tournament Team, led MVNU with
a season-high 29 points as she nailed seven
3-pointers and went 6-for-6 at the free
throw line. Steveley also added eight
points, and Levering grabbed a team-high 11
rebounds. The Lady Cougars shot 28.8 percent
from the field (15-for-52), 32.1 percent
from 3-point range (9-for-28), and 55.6
percent from the free throw line
(10-for-18).
Lengel led the Lady Lancers with 16 points,
while Kiera Gray added 10 points. Danielle
Boykin also finished with eight points and
11 rebounds. Grace shot 32.1 percent from
the field (17-for-53), 27.8 percent from
3-point range (5-for-18), and 69 percent
from the free throw line (20-for-29).
"Today's game was bittersweet," said MVNU
coach Jason Foster. "During this whole NCCAA
Tournament, we saw and faced teams that we
were familiar with. I felt that we competed
hard and really fought hard during the whole
thing. Today was a very weird game. To have
17 turnovers in the first half and still
only be down four points was wild. But, our
girls kept going and going."
"Sierra had a great game as she ended an
amazing college career with a season-high 29
points," Foster added. "It is a real
testament to the type of competitor she is.
Whitney was very unfortunate in that she got
the short end of some calls that took her
out of the game. But, even with that, she
has been our rock inside and has been solid
in every way. Lexi (Harkins) also had a
great tournament and has been the glue type
of player for us all year. I am thankful
that I had the opportunity to have a small
part in the collegiate careers of these
three truly gifted ladies."
"This has been an amazing year for me," said
Foster as he reflected on his first season
with the Lady Cougars. "To come into a
program with such a solid foundation full of
quality kids has been a true blessing."
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