WILMORE, Ky. – The Asbury University women's basketball team returned to action for the first time since November 24 on Friday afternoon at the Luce Center in non-conference play.

The Eagles were victorious 83-76 over Mount Vernon Nazarene to improve to 5-2 on the year as they head into Christmas.

Additionally, Asbury wins its fourth consecutive contest.

Key Stats
*Faith Osborne led the Eagles in scoring with 17 points on 6-11 shooting. Osborne was also 4-8 from three-point territory, a team-high for the day.
*Jaclynn Ruble scored 16 points and dished out a team-high five assists.
*Also reaching double figures scoring were Zaria Napier with 13, Sarah King with 12 and Kelsey Johnson with 11 points.
*The Eagles knocked down 12 threes in the victory and were efficient yet again at the foul line shooting 19-25 as a team. King led the Eagles with a 5-6 effort on free throws.
* Mount Vernon Nazarene dominated the glass 45-26, but Asbury's defense and full-court pressure forced 30 turnovers on the afternoon, leading to 30 points scored off turnovers.
*AU posted 24 points in the paint and scored 22 fast break points.
*The Eagles' depth also showed on Friday with AU scoring 33 total bench points.

Highlights
*Asbury led by two after a close back and forth first period at 18-16, but increased their lead in the second frame after a great three-point shooting effort.
*The Eagles shot 6-9 from three in the quarter which included a sequence early on in the period with three consecutive threes on three straight possessions from Zaria Napier and back-to-back threes from Jaclynn Ruble.
*Leading 35-27, AU kept its foot on the gas and maintained the lead throughout the quarter. The Eagles finished the period on a 7-2 run to lead 42-35 at halftime.
*With under three minutes left in the third, a three from Faith Osborne gave AU its largest lead of the night at 62-48.
*MVNU would rally back into the game using a 22-10 run to close the deficit down to only two with three minutes left to play.
*Osborne's three off the top of the key put the game away as the Eagles' lead increased out to 78-71 with 50 seconds remaining.

Next Up
Asbury is back in play on December as they play host to Covenant College. Tip-off is set for 1 PM.