No. 24 Women's Basketball wins eighth straight game with 63-48 victory over Wilmington on Senior Night

By: Caleb Scott

ADA -- The No. 24 Ohio Northern women's basketball team extended its winning streak to eight consecutive games with a 63-48 victory over Wilmington on Senior Night at the ONU Sports Center on Wednesday evening.

The Polar Bears improve their record to 20-4 overall and 13-4 in Ohio Athletic Conference play, while the Quakers fall to 12-12, 9-8. 

Northern was led by senior Cenzie Yoder, who scored a game-high 18 points, pulled down six rebounds and dished out four assists. 

Junior Jordan Kimes recorded her eighth double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and pulling down 11 rebounds and sophomore Carly Thomas chipped in with 12 points for Northern. 

The Polar Bears found themselves down 14-8 with 12:51 remaining in the first half, before an 8-2 run capped off by a free throw from Yoder, knotted the game up at 16-16. 

Wilmington took a 26-23 lead going into the break.

A 12-3 run to start the second half capped off by a jumper from Yoder, gave ONU a 35-29 lead with 14:23 remaining in the contest. 

The Polar Bears never looked back from there, extending their lead to as many as 16 points in the second half.

"We got into a better offensive rhythm in the second half and started to make more shots," said head coach Michele Durand. "I am really proud of this group of seniors. They have been great leaders all season and set a great example of the program."

Ohio Northern finished 26-of-60 from the field (43.3 percent), shooting 17-of-28 (60.7 percent) in the second half.

Wilmington went 19-of-55 (34.5 percent) from the field.

ONU turned the ball over only six times and forced 15 WC turnovers, resulting in 14 points.

The Quakers held a slim 40-37 advantage in the rebounding battle.. 

Ohio Northern will close out its regular season on Saturday, when it travels to take on Capital at 3 pm.