The Mount Vernon Nazarene Lady Cougars women’s basketball team dropped its last game of 2021 and first contest of 2022, despite two huge performances by Rylee Pireu.
On Dec. 30, MVNU fell on the road to the University of Pikeville (7-6, 1-5) by a score of 80-64. After the first quarter, Pikeville held a 20-10 lead. MVNU was unable to respond to the Bears' early attack, falling behind by as many as 20 points in the game. Pikeville was the hungrier, more dominant team on the boards as it outrebounded the Lady Cougars 41-21. MVNU gave up numerous second-chance opportunities as it allowed the Bears to collect 13 offensive rebounds to keep a possession alive. Pikeville has now beaten a team ranked in the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll for the second game in a row.
Pireu was the bright spot for MVNU as she had a game-high 29 points. Pireu shot 11-for-22 from the field and was 6-for-13 from deep. Pireu had three steals defensively. Maggie Coe was the only other Lady Cougar in double figures with 13 points. Elizabeth Monk grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and had six points as well.
Two days later, on Jan. 1, the Lady Cougars (10-6, 4-0) fell to Lourdes University (6-10, 0-7) by a final score of 67-61. The Lady Cougars went cold from behind the arc, making it very difficult to stay in the game. MVNU fought back from a 38-24 disadvantage in the second quarter, cutting Lourdes' lead to 38-31 heading into halftime. The Lady Cougars took their first lead of the second half late in the third quarter at 46-45, but Lourdes responded with a 15-3 run to put the game away. Despite a late comeback attempt with a chance to tie the game with 38 seconds left, MVNU could not convert down the stretch to avoid its second straight defeat. For the game, MVNU shot just 33.3% from the field and 9.5% (2-for-21) from three.
Pireu again led MVNU in points with 15. Pireu had three assists and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Katie Sprang was solid off the bench for the Lady Cougars as she shot 6-for-10 from the field to finish with 14 points. Sprang also grabbed six rebounds and had a block in her 22 minutes on the floor. Coe pitched in with 11 points and five boards. Emily Walker moved the ball well, picking up eight assists. She grabbed four rebounds and tied for a game-high two steals.
Lily Krieger pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds, including five offensive boards. Krieger picked up a game-high two blocks and pitched in with eight points.
