MOUNT VERNON, OH – Carlie Newman scored 20 points and hauled in 10 rebounds and Rachel Driesenga poured in 16 points and a game high 13 rebounds to vault Spring Arbor to a 59-54 victory over the Mount Vernon Nazarene University Cougars on Saturday afternoon.
The Spring Arbor Cougars jumped out of the gate and hit three straight 3-pointers and six of their first seven shots to lead the game 16-4. From tip to buzzer, Spring Arbor led the ball game by as many as 15 points (33-18) with 3:18 left in the first half to as few as three points, in the second half, on three separate occasions.
Mount Vernon made a stout comeback run late in the game after trailing SAU by seven points (51-44) with 2:30 left to play, and just a minute later MVNU whittled the lead to just three points, 51-48 with 1:29 left.
Mount Vernon fouled the Cougars in an attempt to put Spring Arbor on the line to get the ball back, but the Cougars nailed eight straight free throws and never allowed Mount Vernon to get any closer and closed out the game with the 59-54 lead.
Along with Newman and Driesenga's double-doubles, Kylie Townsley put together her fourth straight double figure performance with 15 points and bringing down eight rebounds. Jessica Garrison had six points and Lindsey Burnside added two points to complete Spring Arbor's scoring.
Spring Arbor moves up into a tie for fifth place in the Crossroads League standings with a 2-2 record, 8-7 overall while MVNU falls to 0-4 in League play and 1-12 for the season.
Spring Arbor will host the Grace College Lancers on Wednesday Night, January 8, for a 7:00 game. Grace is 3-1 in the Crossroads and 7-9 overall.
