Trojans Drop Tight Contest at MVNU
February 21, 2026

Trojans Drop Tight Contest at MVNU

Box Score
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – The RV Taylor University women's basketball team suffered a narrow three-point defeat at Mount Vernon Nazarene in Saturday's regular-season finale. The host Cougars held on for the 85-82 victory inside Ariel Arena.
 
Taylor (17-11, 7-11 CL) will travel to Fort Wayne on Tuesday evening as the seventh seed in the Crossroads League Tournament, where it plays against host No. 7 Saint Francis (25-3, 15-3 CL) at 6 p.m. inside Hutzell Athletic Center. The Cougars earned the second seed in the league championship event.
 
Kaycie Warfel returned to the lineup after a one-game absence with 14 quick points in the opening quarter and logged her eighth 30-point game of the season. The freshman guard, who leads the NAIA in points per game (24.6), finished with 35 points on 15-of-31 shooting (48.4%) and four made 3-pointers. Her 15 made field goals are the second-most recorded in single-game team history, which also equals her total from her career-high 40-point outing at Grace earlier this season.
 
Madi Allen and Marissa Trout each tallied double figures in the scoring column. Allen finished with 16 points, six rebounds and two assists, while Trout scored 14 with seven boards and two helpers. Quinn Kelly chipped in with four points and seven rebounds, while Emma Ancelet notched five points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds.
 
For the fourth game in a row, Taylor carried a lead into the halftime break after going up by as much as 14 in the second quarter and moving ahead 49-40 at the stoppage point. But a strong third quarter showing by MVNU closed the gap. The teams entered the final quarter level at 63-63, before trading blows over the final 10 minutes of regulation.
 
A three from Warfel opened the fourth-quarter scoring and the Trojans would move in front by a four-point margin when Warfel's layup at the 8:30 mark made it 68-64.
 
The Cougars responded as Lily Shepherd's trey with seven minutes remaining put the hosts ahead 70-68, and Warfel tied the game again with a putback layup to make it 70-70, but the Trojans would not lead again in the contest.
 
Warfel's layup with 1:16 remaining cut the deficit to two, with the Cougars leading 82-80, and the Trojans forced a turnover on MVNU's next possession but couldn't cash in on the offensive end of the floor with a chance to tie or take the lead. The Cougars sealed the game at the free-throw line as TU's potential game-tying three at the buzzer fell short.
 
TU shot 44.6 percent overall from the floor and 30.4 percent from three-point range. The free-throw line hurt the Trojans and proved costly after a 9-for-16 (56.3%) showing from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, MVNU shot 53.5 percent overall and made 19 of 24 (79.2%) at the free-throw line.
 
The Cougars (8-20, 4-14 CL), who did not qualify for the conference tournament, had two players finish with 22 points in the final game of the season including Kyle Leibacher and Angela Roshak, while Anna Swisshelm tallied 12 points to reach double figures.