The Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU) women's basketball team began their season with a victory against Lawrence Tech University. The game, held in Southfield, Michigan, saw MVNU secure a 56-52 win. Despite Lawrence Tech's early lead of 15-12 at the end of the first quarter and a halftime advantage of 31-27, MVNU turned the game around in the second half.
Naomi Keib's layup in the third quarter helped MVNU regain the lead at 32-31. Although Lawrence Tech briefly reclaimed the lead with a three-pointer, MVNU finished the third quarter ahead at 41-38. Anna Swisshelm's layup in the fourth quarter extended MVNU's lead to 49-42. Lawrence Tech narrowed the gap to 52-50 with less than a minute remaining, but Angela Roshak's crucial layup secured MVNU's win.
This match marked Lauryn VanHoose's first victory as head coach for MVNU. The team dominated rebounds with a total of 43 compared to Lawrence Tech’s 26 and limited their opponents to just 28.1% shooting accuracy. Kylie Leibacher led her team with 14 points and nine rebounds during her debut for MVNU. Roshak contributed significantly with 12 points, six rebounds, and six blocks, while Swisshelm added ten points and four rebounds.
Coach VanHoose expressed pride in her team's performance: "Super proud of this team for fighting till the end and finding a way to win! Every game will be a different challenge where we have to learn and get better."
MVNU is set to participate in the Chick-Fil-A Classic in Bourbonnais, Illinois from October 31 to November 1. They will face Governors State University on Friday and Olivet Nazarene University on Saturday.
Mount Vernon Nazarene University is an intentionally Christian institution located on a main campus spanning 327 acres in Mount Vernon, Ohio. It offers education both on-campus and online to nearly 2,200 students from various regions.
Information from this article can be found here.
