Cougar News

Paducah, KY - Mid-Continent University (3-16, 1-6 TSAC) led 45-35 at halftime and 53-38 early in the second half before holding on for a 75-69 collegiate women's basketball victory over Brescia University (11-12), Monday, February 1, at Community Christian Academy in Paducah. The Lady Cougars avenged a 27-point loss (64-37) to the Bearcats, Nov. 4, in Owensboro and won their second consecutive game, the first consecutive wins MCU has recorded since December of 2007.

     Ninth-place Mid-Continent hosts second-place Trevecca Nazarene University (14-5, 6-1 TSAC), which ranks 12th in the NAIA, Thursday, February 4, at 6:00 p.m., in TSAC action at Paducah Tilghman High School, and travels to Batesville, Arkansas to meet fifth-place Lyon College (14-7, 4-4 TSAC), Saturday, Feb. 6 at 2:00 p.m.

     Four Cougars scored in double figures with junior starting forward Katie Perry (Anchorage, AK/Grace Christian School), pictured on left, leading the way with 20 points on 9 of 14 shots, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots. Junior forward Alisha Herndon (Clarksville, TN/Montgomery Central HS), pictured above on right, scored 18 points on 6 of 8 shots and 5 of 6 free throws in a reserve role, and made her first collegiate three-point field goal with 3:27 left in the game, giving MCU a 68-64 lead.

     Junior guard Tiffany Payton (Wadesville, IN/Mater Dei HS/Kaskaskia College, IL)totaled 16 points, 13 in the first half, with 2 three-pointers, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, and 6-3 center Kandi Knupp (Iuka, MS/Tishomingo County HS/N.E. Mississippi CC) added 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots and ranks sixth in the NAIA with 56 blocks this season. Sophomore forward Amanda Daugherty (Golconda, IL/Pope County HS), who set a school-record with 20 rebounds in MCU's Jan. 28 win over Blue Mountain, contributed 6 points, 11 more rebounds, 6 assists and a steal.

     Brescia guard Brittany Bird led all scorers with 23 points, including 2 three-pointers and 13 of 15 free throws, and grabbed 5 rebounds, dished off 5 assists and stole the ball 5 times from MCU. Forward Clarissa Houston added 16 points, 14 in the first half, with 3 three-pointers, and guard Kendra McIntyre added 14 points and 4 three-pointers. Forward Amelia Keller contributed 9 rebounds but just 4 points.

     MCU began the game leads of 16-5 and 21-9, and after Brescia sliced the advantage to 34-32 with 2:50 left in the first half, MCU rebuilt the lead to 45-35 by halftime with an 11-3 run in the last 2:29.

     In the second half, the Lady Cougars led 53-38 with 16:14 left, their biggest lead, and led by at least 10 points until the 9:45 mark when Brescia cut MCU's lead to 59-50. With Bird scoring four free throws and a three-pointer during a 9-2 run, Brescia moved to within one point, 65-64, with 4:02 left. Herndon nailed a crucial three-pointer from the top of the circle as the shot clock ran out and MCU scored five consecutive points to lead 70-64 with 2:32 left. Brescia came no closer than three points, 70-67, the rest of the way, and Herndon made 5 of her 6 free throws in the last 26 seconds to ice the game.

     Mid-Continent shot a season-high .545 from the field for the game (30-55), made 3 of 9 three-pointers and 12 of 17 free throws, survived 22 turnovers, and outrebounded Brescia, 44-35. Brescia shot .308 from the field (20-65), 9 of 29 three-pointers and 20 of 27 free throws, and committed 11 turnovers.