Women's Basketball: Ohio Northern (0-0 Overall) at Allegheny (Pa.) Tip-Off Tournament
Friday and Saturday, November 16-17, 2018, 1:00 pm - David V. Wise Center, Meadville, Pa.
This Weekend's Preview: The Ohio Northern women's basketball program begins its 47th season in school history this weekend as the Polar Bears travel to Meadville, Pennsylvania to compete in the Allegheny (Pa.) Tip-Off Tournament on Friday, November 16 and Saturday, November 17 ... Northern is slated to face off against Chatham (Pa.) on day one while they take on the tournament host, Allegheny (Pa.), on day two ... Both matchups are set for 1 p.m. start times inside the David V. Wise Center ... Last season, Ohio Northern finished the year with a 23-5 overall record and a 15-3 league mark to win their fourth consecutive OAC Regular Season title and clinch their ninth successive winning season ... They also made their 23rd straight trip to the OAC Tournament, making it to the championship game before falling to Marietta ... The Polar Bears have now won 20-or-more contests in the past seven seasons ... ONU was projected to finish third in this season's OAC standings in the annual OAC Coaches Preseason Poll ... Head coach Michele Durand and her staff welcome back nine former letterwinners, an All-OAC honoree, and two starters in seniors Jenna Dirksen and Tori Wyss from last season's squad ... Dirksen led all returners with 8.9 points per game, 27.7 minutes per contest, 82 assists, and 35 steals during the 2017-18 season ... For her performance, the senior would earn Second-Team All-OAC honors ... Meanwhile, Wyss led the Polar Bears with 5.0 rebounds per contest while also contributing 3.1 points per game ... Senior Alyssa Manley and juniors Abby Weeks and Emily Mescher will return as multiple-time letterwinners and round out the starting five for Northern ... Chatham (Pa.) will enter this weekend's tournament already sporting a 3-0 record following a busy opening week that included wins over Pitt Bradford (Pa.), Adrian (Mich.), and Franciscan ... The Cougars are led offensively by senior guards Katie Sieg and Ashley McClain who have averaged 17.7 points per contest through the first three games ... Meanwhile, junior forward Sierra Ungerman tops the rebound category with 8.3 boards per game ... Allegheny (Pa.) will enter their home tournament owning a 1-0 record after defeating Waynesburg (Pa.) 69-49 in their season opener Tuesday evening ... Sophomore guard Rylee Donovan paced the Gators with 18 points and seven rebounds in a team-high 35 minutes on the court ... Senior guard Delaney Arbore and sophomore forward Julianna Skowron were next in line for Allegheny as they each chipped in 13 points.
Ohio Northern Probable Starters (2017-18 Stats):
G - #11 Alyssa Manley, Sr. (4.8 ppg, 23 3-point FG)
G - #15 Abby Weeks, Jr. (5.4 ppg, 22 steals)
G - #31 Jenna Dirksen, Sr. (8.9 ppg, 82 assists)
F - #33 Tori Wyss, Sr. (3.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
F - #34 Emily Mescher, Jr. (6.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
ONU Returning Statistical Leaders (2017-18 Stats)
| Scoring | Rebounding | 3FGs | Assists | Steals | ||||||||||||||
| 1. | Dirksen | 8.9 | 1. | Wyss | 5.0 | 1. | Manley | 23 | 1. | Dirksen | 82 | 1. | Dirksen | 35 | ||||
| 2. | Mescher | 6.2 | 2. | Mescher | 4.2 | 2. | Dirksen | 18 | 2. | Manley | 41 | 2. | Weeks | 22 | ||||
| 3. | Weeks | 5.4 | 3. | Dirksen | 3.7 | 3. | Brock | 11 | 3. | Weeks | 35 | 3. | Manley | 17 |
All-Time Series: Friday afternoon's matchup with Chatham (Pa.) will be the first meeting between the two programs ... The Polar Bears have faced Allegheny (Pa.) on two occasions with each team winning once ... Northern won the most recent meeting 85-58 at a neutral site during the 2006-07 campaign.
ONU Head Coach Michele Durand: Durand will enter her 18th season at the helm of the Ohio Northern women's basketball program sporting a 298-163 record, a winning percentage of .646 ... She currently stands as the all-time winningest coach in program history after surpassing former Hall of Fame coach Gayle Lauth last season.