Lourdes closed the third period on a 14-1 run to turn a six-point deficit into a seven-point advantage on Friday evening on the way to a season-opening 72-65 victory over Mount Vernon Nazarene inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"It's always exciting to win your season opener," head coach Tandy Bradford said afterwards.  "We were able to show our depth tonight.  We needed people to step up in the third quarter to change the momentum and we had some people on the bench that did just that."
 
Lourdes took a quick 14-8 lead following an Alex Wolfe (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) three-pointer before the Cougars answered with a 7-0 run of their own late in the quarter.  Neither team would lead by more than three the rest of the first half, which saw seven ties and 14 lead changes.  The two sides went into halftime tied at 33.
 
Mount Vernon Nazarene built its biggest lead of the game, 45-39, five minutes into the third quarter before the Gray Wolves flipped the momentum.  Lourdes allowed just one free throw the remainder of the quarter, scoring 12 straight points at one point to take a 53-46 lead into the final stanza.
 
The lead grew to 11, 63-52, with 4:41 to play before Mount Vernon Nazarene (0-1) made one final push.  Six points in less than a minute made it a five-point game before Lourdes tallied seven in a row to push the lead to 12, its largest of the game, with 1:50 to play on the way to winning its season opener for the seventh time in 12 seasons.
 
Shae Pedroza (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon H.S.) led the way for Lourdes with 13 points while Halle Barnett (Sylvania, Ohio/Southview H.S.) added 11 in her Gray Wolf debut.  Nadeen Jemaa (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg H.S.) also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points while handing out four assists.  Tamyah Worthy (Toledo, Ohio/Start H.S.) pulled down seven rebounds to lead Lourdes in her collegiate debut.
 
Maggie Coe led all scorers with 18 points for Mount Vernon Nazarene while Angela Roshak had a double-double with 13 points and 13 boards.
 
Lourdes (1-0) remains home on Thursday evening as the Gray Wolves host Spring Arbor.  Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. inside the Ebeid Rec Center.