Women's Basketball: Capital (5-0 Overall, 2-0 OAC) at Ohio Northern (6-1 Overall, 1-1 OAC)
Saturday, December 8, 2018, 3 pm - ONU Sports Center, Ada, Ohio
Saturday's Preview: The Ohio Northern women's basketball program welcomes in OAC foe Capital Saturday afternoon to round out their pre-Christmas home slate for the 2018-19 campaign ... Tipoff is set for 3 pm inside the ONU Sports Center in Ada ... The Polar Bears enter the contest owning a 6-1 overall record and an even 1-1 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference this season ... Northern is fresh off a 75-67, come-from-behind victory over the Wilmington Quakers on Wednesday evening ... Senior guard Jenna Dirksen produced 18 points to guide the Polar Bear offense ... Junior center Emily Mescher and sophomore guard Emily Brock chipped in double-figure scoring efforts, registering 14 points each ... Mescher would also add a team-best nine rebounds to help give ONU a 41-29 advantage on the glass ... Through seven games this season, Dirksen leads Ohio Northern with 19 assists and 15.6 points per game, ranking her second in scoring on the conference leaderboards ... Senior forward Tori Wyss paces the Polar Bears with 7.4 boards per game while Mescher trails close behind at 7.3 rebounds per contest ... Mescher leads the team and stands third among the OAC in shooting percentage with a 58.9% shooting mark ... Junior guard Jaclyn Yankle also represents Northern on the OAC statistical leaderboards, sitting tied for third in three-point field goal percentage with a 57.1% conversion rate ... Capital enters Saturday's contest sporting a 5-0 overall record and a 2-0 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference ... The Crusaders defeated Muskingum 65-46 in their most recent outing on Thursday evening ... Sophomore guard Elle Folan currently paces the CU offense, averaging 12 points per contest ... Meanwhile, junior forward Regan Stonerock leads the team and stands second in the OAC with 10.4 boards per game ... She also leads the team and league in field goal percentage with a 66.7% shooting clip.
Ohio Northern Probable Starters:
G - #11 Alyssa Manley, Sr. (4.1 ppg, 18 assists, 7 steals)
G - #15 Abby Weeks, Jr. (7.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 14 assists)
G - #31 Jenna Dirksen, Sr. (15.6 ppg, 19 assists, 13 3FGs)
F - #33 Tori Wyss, Sr. (4.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
F - #34 Emily Mescher, Jr. (9.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 58.9% FG)
ONU Statistical Leaders:
| Scoring | Rebounding | 3FGs | Assists | Steals | ||||||||||||||
| 1. | Dirksen | 15.6 | 1. | Wyss | 7.4 | 1. | Brock | 16 | 1. | Dirksen | 19 | 1. | Manley | 7 | ||||
| 2. | Mescher | 9.7 | 2. | Mescher | 7.3 | 2. | Dirksen | 13 | 2. | Manley | 18 | 2. | Weeks | 5 | ||||
| 3. | Brock | 8.3 | 3. | Weeks | 4.3 | 3. | Yankle | 8 | 3. | Weeks | 14 | 3. | Hale | 4 | ||||
| Jacobs | 14 |
All-Time Series: The Polar Bears currently trail Capital 36-52 in the all-time series between the two programs ... Last season, ONU claimed a 64-38 victory over the Crusaders defending home court, but fell on the road 84-76 to split the season series ... Northern has won four of the past six matchups dating back to the 2016 regular season.
ONU Head Coach Michele Durand: Durand is now in her 18th season at the helm of the Ohio Northern women's basketball program and currently sports a 304-164 record, a winning percentage of .650 ... She currently stands as the all-time winningest coach in program history after surpassing former Hall of Fame coach Gayle Lauth last season.
