Slow Start Costs Lady Cougars in 67-66 Loss to Bluefield


	Lady Cougar Basketball Game Recap Slow Start Costs Lady Cougars in 67-66 Loss to Bluefield written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (12-10-2011) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's basketball team could not overcome a sluggish first half as Bluefield (Va.) College answered every comeback attempt in the second half to prevail 67-66 in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon in the Physical Education Center. The visiting Lady Rams (6-5) jumped out to an early 12-4 lead just four minutes into the game as Antonia Cataldi drilled a pair of 3-pointers and Kia Gilliard made three baskets. After the Lady Cougars (6-3) pulled within 12-11 on a trey by junior guard Rachel Peelman at the 11:50 mark, Bluefield extended the lead back out to 20-13 with 7:53 left in the half as Teqa McNeal scored four points to lead the way. Back-to-back layups by senior post Whitney Levering *(left)* and a layup by junior forward Emily Steveley once again closed the gap to 20-19 for MVNU with 6:38 to play, but the Lady Rams finished the half on a 17-10 run to take a 37-29 advantage to the locker room at the break. Steveley led the Lady Cougars with 11 points and five rebounds in the first half, while Levering added six points. MVNU shot just 25.8 percent from the field (8-for-31), 20 percent from 3-point range (2-for-10), and 84.6 percent from the free throw line (11-for-13). The Lady Cougars also committed 13 turnovers. McNeal paced Bluefield with 11 points off the bench in the first half, while Gilliard added 10 points. The Lady Rams shot 48.3 percent from the field (14-for-29), 28.6 percent from 3-point range (2-for-7), and 77.8 percent from the free throw line (7-for-9). Bluefield opened the half on an 11-3 run to extend its lead to 48-32 four minutes into the final period. The Lady Cougars tried to whittle away at the lead, but the Lady Rams still held a 57-46 cushion with 8:01 to play. Trailing 62-53 with 4:46 left, MVNU made one final surge to try to pull out the game. Five straight missed shots by Bluefield helped the Lady Cougars pull within 62-60 with 2:01 to go as Levering made a pair of baskets and sophomore post Amy Daniels converted a three-point play opportunity. The Lady Rams would proceed to go just 3-for-6 at the free throw line the rest of the way to leave the door open for an MVNU comeback, but a turnover with 44 seconds to go proved to be costly. Fletcher attempted a potential game-tying 3-pointer with two seconds left that was tipped in by Harkins to account for the final margin in the 67-66 loss. "This was a tough one," said MVNU coach Jason Foster. "I hope that this game is a real learning experience for our team. (Bluefield) did a good job controlling the tempo of the game and playing to their comfort level. This was the type of game where the ball bounced in the direction of the more aggressive team. We had our opportunities, but it is hard to dig your way out of the hole we got into. We have one more game until Christmas break and we need to work some things out." "We did have some great individual effort in this one," Foster added. "Whitney gave us a big lift offensively as did Emily. We need to keep working on our system and figuring out how to get good shots for our girls. We have the individual pieces and now we just need to put them together." Levering finished with a career-high 24 points with 18 coming after halftime. Steveley added 13 points and combined with Levering to each grab eight rebounds. Fletcher also finished with eight points, but was just 1-for-12 from the field including 0-for-6 from 3-point range. MVNU shot just 37.7 percent from the field (23-for-61), 20 percent from 3-point range (4-for-20), and 84.2 percent from the charity stripe (16-for-19). The Lady Cougars also committed 23 turnovers. Gilliard led four Bluefield players in double figures with 16 points, while McNeal added 13 points. Takieya Rouse and Cataldi tallied 12 and 11 points respectively, and Destiny Tolliver grabbed eight rebounds and blocked seven shots. The Lady Rams shot 40 percent from the field (24-for-60), 17.6 percent from 3-point range (3-for-17), and 61.5 percent from the free throw line (16-for-26). MVNU will return to action next Saturday when the Lady Cougars will travel to Alice Lloyd (Ky.) College for another non-conference game that will begin at 1 p.m.

Site Map