Women’s Basketball: #25 Ohio Northern (8-1 Overall) at Bluffton Holiday Tournament

Thursday-Friday, December 29-30, 2022 - Sommer Center, Bluffton, Ohio

| Bluffton Holiday Tournament site |

Tournament Preview: The Polar Bears close out their non-conference schedule on Thursday and Friday with a pair of games in the McDonald's of Bluffton Holiday Tournament … Northern will face Denison on Thursday at 5 p.m. and Bethany (W.Va.) on Friday at 12 p.m. … The tournament also features Bluffton vs. Bethany on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Bluffton vs. Denison on Friday at 2 p.m. … ONU went 2-0 in last year's Bluffton Holiday Tournament, defeating St. Mary's (Ind.) 56-26 and Geneva (Pa.) 101-30 … St. Mary's 26 points were the fewest allowed in a game in the event's history … ONU's 101 points against Geneva were the second-most scored in a game in the event's history … Northern received 44 points and is ranked No. 25 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, marking the first time the team has been ranked in the poll since February of 2018 … The Polar Bears are riding a five-game win streak and last played on Dec. 17 when they came away with a 57-41 home win over Capital in which they held the Comets to 20.8% shooting … Sophomore Layla Dials led ONU with a career-high 12 points to go with four rebounds and two assists … Sophomore Brooke Allen tallied 10 points and nine rebounds, and sophomore Abi Akamine added nine points and four rebounds … Junior Kristen Luersman posted seven points and 10 rebounds … Through nine games, senior Brynn Serbin (13.1 points per game), Allen (9.8) and Luersman (9.8) lead ONU in scoring … Serbin ranks sixth in the OAC in scoring average … Luersman leads the OAC in rebounding average with 9.1 per game … Serbin has an OAC-high 43 assists and is tied for fifth in the conference with 19 steals … Serbin has made a team-best 18 3-pointers, which is tied for third in the OAC, and is shooting 32.7% from beyond the arc … Serbin ranks seventh all-time at ONU with 161 career steals … Serbin has 204 career assists, which ranks 12th all-time at ONU … The Polar Bears are holding opponents to 48.6 points per game on 29% shooting, including 23.2% from beyond the arc … Northern leads the OAC in points per game allowed and field goal percentage defense … Denison enters the tournament with a record of 4-5 overall and riding a three-game losing streak … The Big Red last played on Dec. 7 when they fell 74-49 to Case Western Reserve … Junior Ava Warcaba led DU with 10 points … Through nine games, seniors Mikaila Carpenter and Gabby Elliott lead the Big Red in scoring with 13.2 and 9.2 points per game, respectively … Carpenter is averaging a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game … Senior Hannah Wynn has a team-high 37 assists and 31 steals … Elliott has made a team-high 15 3-pointers and is shooting 40.5% from beyond the arc … Bethany (W.Va.) enters the tournament with a record of 2-8 overall and have lost five straight games … The Bison last played on Dec. 19, falling 72-68 to Penn State-Behrend … BC finished with four double-figure scorers in the game led by senior Sophie Morey and junior Bella Skobel with 16 points each … Through 10 games, junior Makenzee Mason (12.9 points per game), sophomore Lindsey Garrison (12.7) and sophomore Ashleigh Wheeler (10.8) are averaging double figures in scoring … Mason leads the team with 5.8 rebounds per game and 15 assists on the season … Mason has made a team-high 15 3-pointers and is shooting 25.9% from beyond the arc … Senior Alexis Heap has a team-best 16 steals.

ONU Statistical Leaders:

All-Time Series: ONU leads the all-time series with Denison by a 7-2 margin and has won three straight meetings … In the teams' last meeting, in 2017, Northern came away with a 56-44 road win … ONU leads the all-time series with Bethany (W.Va.) by a 1-0 margin … In the teams' lone prior meeting, in 2007, ONU came away with an 82-48 victory at a neutral venue.

Head Coach Mark Huelsman: Huelsman is in his third season at ONU and has an overall record of 32-17, a winning percentage of .653.