For the second time in a week, the Mount Vernon Nazarene Lady Cougars had a junior basketball star reach the 1,000-point career milestone, and this time, it occurred on senior day.
The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's basketball team (14-11, 8-5) took down Spring Arbor University (4-18, 1-10) by a final of 85-56 on Saturday, Feb. 5 at Ariel Arena. The team's four seniors — Sage Brannon, Maggie Coblentz, Kayla Hovorka and Lily Krieger -- were honored prior to the game as part of the senior day festivities.
MVNU controlled the entire game and never gave the visitors a chance to get back in the game. The Lady Cougars led 44-30 at the half and continued to pile on the points throughout the second half. During the third quarter, junior Maggie Coe reached a basketball milestone by surpassing 1,000 career points in an MVNU uniform. She joined junior teammate Rylee Pireu, who reached the 1,000-point plateau earlier in the week on Feb .1 against Taylor. Coe led the team and reached her landmark with a career-high 29 points, along with seven assists and a steal. Coincidentally, Pireau reached her 1,000 points with a 29-point game as well.
With the win, the Lady Cougars moved into third place in the Crossroads League standings. A top-four finish would mean MVNU would host a Crossroads League quarterfinal game.
In addition to Coe’s all-around performance, the Lady Cougars were led by three honored seniors. Lily Krieger scored 10 points and pulled down eight rebounds, Sage Brannon hit for 10 and added three rebounds, two assists, and a steal, and Maggie Coblentz also chipped in with 10 points as well as three rebounds and a block.
"Senior day is always a fun day,” said MVNU coach Amanda Short. “I love being able to honor the seniors for all they have given to our program. They have truly made it better. I'm proud of the way the team played. We played better defense today and it led to a lot of great offensive looks. It was also a great day watching Maggie Coe reaching 1,000 points and getting her career-high. She continues to do great things for us."
