Women's Basketball: #7 Ohio Northern (0-1 Overall) v St. Mary's (Ind.) (0-1 Overall) at North-Park Tip Off Tournament
Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017 - 2 pm - North Park Gymnasium, Chicago, Illinois
Saturday's Contest: The No. 7-ranked Ohio Northern women's basketball team will take on St. Mary's (Ind.) in the second round of the North Park (Ill.) Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday afternoon ... Northern dropped a heartbreaking 67-66 decision against area-rival Bluffton on Friday evening in the opening round of the tournament ... Head coach Michele Durand and her staff welcome back a deep roster that includes 11 letter winners and three starters from last season's team ... Seniors Lindsey Black and Alexis Kirkbride will take over the point guard position after the departure of 2016-17 Ohio Athletic Conference Player of the Year Britt Lauck ... Black appeared in all 31 contests last season and ranked fourth on the team and third among returners with 7.2 points per contest a season ago ... Also returning for the Polar Bears is senior Courtney Cramer, juniors Jenna Dirksen and Tori Wyss and freshman Abby Weeks ... Cramer makes her return after ranking second on the team and first among returning players with 39 three points field goals ... She was also named the OAC Tournament Most Valuable Player a season ago after an 18-point performance helped lift Northern to an OAC Tournament title ... Dirksen, an Honorable Mention All-OAC honoree in 2016-17, returns after starting in 30 of 31 contests for ONU last season ... The junior ranked third on the team last season, averaging a career-best 10.3 points per contest, and led the team with a .453 three point field goal percentage in 2016-17 ... Wyss appeared in all 31 contests for ONU last season and averaged 12.9 minutes per contest and 2.5 points per contest ... Weeks returns after appearing in all 31 contests for ONU last season and averaging 4.3 points per contest and 9.2 minutes per game ... Senior All-American Amy Bullimore will look to lead the Polar Bears after being tied for first on the team last season with 14.1 points per contest ... She also led the team in rebounds per contest (8.1), blocks per game (1.6), and field goal percentage (.529) ... St. Mary's (Ind.) enters the contest after falling to North Park (Ill.) in the opening round if the North Park (Ill.) Tip-Off Tournament ... The Belles fell 76-48 in the contest against North Park ... Gabby Diamond and Olivia Lathers each had 10 points to lead the Belles ... Diamond chipped in a team-best seven rebounds.
Ohio Northern Probable Starters (2016-17 Stats):
G - #10 Lindsey Black, Sr. (7.2 ppg, 56 assists)
G - #20 Courtney Cramer, Sr. (6.3 ppg, 36 3-point FG)
G - #31 Jenna Dirksen, So. (10.3 ppg, 35 steals)
F - #33 Tori Wyss, Jr. (2.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
F - #44 Amy Bullimore, Sr. (14.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg)
ONU Returning Statistical Leaders (2016-17 Stats)
| Scoring | Rebounding | 3FGs | Assists | Steals | ||||||||||||||
| 1. | Bullimore | 14.1 | 1. | Bullimore | 8.0 | 1. | Cramer | 36 | 1. | Dirksen | 73 | 1. | Dirksen | 35 | ||||
| 2. | Dirksen | 10.3 | 2. | Dirksen | 4.5 | 2. | Dirksen | 29 | 2. | Cramer | 63 | 2. | Cramer | 27 | ||||
| 3. | Black | 7.2 | 3. | Mescher | 3.3 | 3. | Black | 14 | 3. | Black | 56 | 3. | Bullimore |
23 |
All-Time Series: Northern owns a 3-0 record all-time against St. Mary's (Ind.) ... The Polar Bears defeated the Belles 77-62 the last time the two teams met in 2013.
ONU head coach Michele Durand: Durand is in her 16th season at ONU with a 275-159 record, a winning percentage of .634 ... Durand is currently tied with former Polar Bear head coach Gayle Lauth as the winningest coach in school history.