MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's basketball team used stingy defense and a commanding advantage on the boards to post a 56-45 victory over NAIA Division II No. 18 Grace (Ind.) College on Saturday evening in the Physical Education Center as the second round of the Mid-Central College Conference schedule got under way.

The first half was a defensive battle with six lead changes and three ties as neither team was able to build more than a five-point cushion. The host Lady Cougars (11-9, 3-7 MCC) took their largest lead of the half at 7-2 less than three minutes into the game, while the visiting Lady Lancers (13-9, 5-5 MCC) held their largest lead at 20-17 with 4:53 remaining in the half.

A 3-pointer and a jumper by senior guard Sierra Fletcher on back-to-back possessions with just under four minutes remaining gave MVNU a 22-20 lead and neither team scored over the final 3:30 of the half as the Lady Cougars took the two-point cushion to the locker room at the break.

Fletcher led MVNU with eight points in the first half, while senior forward Alexis Harkins and sophomore post Amy Daniels each scored four points. The Lady Cougars shot just 28.6 percent from the field (8-for-28), 27.3 percent from 3-point range (3-for-11), and 75 percent from the free throw line (3-for-4), but MVNU out-rebounded Grace 22-15 including nine offensive boards.

The Lady Lancers were led by Hayley Cashier with five points. Grace shot 33.3 percent from the field (8-for-24), 16.7 percent from 3-point range (1-for-6), and 75 percent from the free throw line (3-for-4).

Points continued to be hard to come by in the second half as each team scored just eight points over the first seven minutes with the Lady Cougars clinging to a 30-28 lead with 13 minutes left.

At that point, MVNU rattled off seven straight points to take a 37-28 lead with 11:21 to play. Senior post Whitney Levering and junior guard Melissa Eickholt each hit a jumper and Daniels added a trey to fuel the surge that included four straight missed shots and a turnover by the Lady Lancers.

After Grace pulled within 39-34 with 7:46 to go, the Lady Cougars used a 15-2 run to take control of the game as MVNU built a 54-36 advantage with 2:07 left. Daniels scored six points, Harkins added five points, and Fletcher added four points. The Lady Cougars were 7-for-7 from the free throw line during this surge, and the Lady Lancers went just 1-for-6 from the field and committed four turnovers.

MVNU went 2-for-7 from the free throw line down the stretch as Grace closed the game on a 9-2 run, but it was too little too late as the Lady Cougars prevailed 56-45.

Daniels finished with 16 points and six rebounds to lead MVNU, while Fletcher added 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Harkins tallied 13 points and six rebounds, and senior guard Ashley Jessie grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. Junior post Courtney Swart also swatted five shots, and Eickholt tossed in five points off the bench. The Lady Cougars shot 40 percent from the field (20-for-50), 26.7 percent from 3-point range (4-for-15), and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (12-for-18).

Danielle Boykin was the lone Lady Lancer to score in double figures as she finished with 10 points as MVNU held Grace to 21 points below its season average of 66.0 points per game coming into Saturday's contest. Cashier also scored nine points, and Boykin grabbed six rebounds. The Lady Lancers shot 30.4 percent from the field (17-for-56), 15 percent from 3-point range (3-for-20), and 80 percent at the free throw line (8-for-10). MVNU out-rebounded Grace 45-29 for the game after the Lady Lancers entered the contest ranked 18th in NAIA Division II with a +5.4 rebounding margin. The 45 points scored was the second-fewest this season for Grace trailing the 37-point output at NAIA Division II No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan back on November 30.

"What a great game to start the second round of conference play," said MVNU coach Jason Foster after his first win over a ranked team since taking over the program this summer. "(Grace) is a good team that plays a very physical style of basketball, and our girls stepped up to the challenge. We had a great defensive effort tonight, and a lot of people stepped in to help out. When Whitney got into early foul trouble, Courtney really stepped up and anchored our defense with five blocked shots that she then controlled to give us a stop and possession. The one thing that really jumps out at me was our rebounding. Grace is a very good rebounding team and to beat them on the boards is no small task."

"As we start this second time through the conference, we need to make sure to learn from our earlier games and continue to work to get more and more aggressive," said Foster. "This group has a lot of heart and if we can stick together and bring life into our effort and play then this could be a very exciting round of conference play."

The Lady Cougars will hit the road again on Wednesday when MVNU travels to Taylor (Ind.) University for another MCC game that is slated to tip off at 7:00 p.m.