Women's Basketball: Muskingum (3-19 Overall, 1-16 OAC) at Ohio Northern (18-6 Overall, 12-5 OAC)
Saturday, February 22, 2020, 3 p.m. - ONU Sports Center, Ada, Ohio
Saturday's Preview: The Ohio Northern women's basketball team closes the regular season against Muskingum at 3 p.m. inside the ONU Sports Center … The Polar Bears — who are riding a three-game win streak — own an 18-6 overall record, which includes a 12-5 mark in Ohio Athletic Conference play … Northern has locked up the No. 3 seed in the upcoming conference tournament and will play host to the No. 6 seed, yet to be determined, Tuesday at 7 p.m. … On Wednesday, ONU edged Heidelberg 55-52 in Tiffin … In that game, seniors Emily Mescher and Abby Weeks poured in 12 points apiece … Mescher paces the Polar Bears this season, averaging 11.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game … Weeks adds 9.5 points per contest, while sophomore Lexi Jacobs and senior Jaclyn Yankle chip in 6.4 and 5.9 points per game, respectively … Freshman Brynn Serbin leads Northern with two assists per contest … ONU averages 61.2 points per game, connecting on 39.6 percent of its field-goal attempts and 28.6 percent of its 3-pointers … The Polar Bears also get it done defensively, holding foes to an 55.3 points per contest, which is second-best in the conference … Muskingum — which is mired in an 11-game losing streak — lays claim to a 3-19 overall record, which includes a 1-16 mark in OAC action … Saturday will end the Muskies season, as they will not finish in the top eight of the final conference standings … Muskingum averages 63.6 points per game, shooting 37.7 percent from the field and 32 percent from 3-point land … The Muskies allow opponents to score 80.1 points per contest, which is worst in the OAC … Olivia Lang leads a three-headed scoring attack, tallying 11.5 points per game … Emily Yeager and Casey Smith score 11.3 and 10.4 points per contest, respectively.
Ohio Northern Probable Starters:
G - #13 Jaidyn Hale, So. (5.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G - #15 Abby Weeks, Sr. (9.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.4 apg)
G - #20 Lexi Jacobs, So. (6.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G - #22 Jaclyn Yankle, Sr. (5.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.0 spg)
F - #34 Emily Mescher, Sr. (11.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.2 apg)
ONU Statistical Leaders:
Scoring | Rebounding | 3FGs | Assists | Steals | ||||||||||||||
1. | Mescher | 11.3 | 1. | Mescher | 5.5 | 1. | Yankle | 30 | 1. | Serbin | 2.0 | 1. | Serbin | 1.9 | ||||
2. | Weeks | 9.5 | 2. | Ward | 4.5 | 2. | Serbin | 28 | 2. | Jacobs | 1.8 | 2. | Yankle | 1.0 | ||||
3. | Jacobs | 6.4 | 3. | Weeks | 3.5 | 3. | Brock | 25 | 2. | Hale | 1.8 | 3. | Weeks | 0.9 |
All-Time Series: Ohio Northern owns a 46-40 all-time record versus Muskingum … The Polar Bears — who are 25-13 all-time against the Muskies in Ada — have won 17 of the last 18, the only loss being a 58-55 defeat in New Concord on Jan. 11 of this season.
Head Coach Michele Durand: Durand is in her 19th season at the helm of the Ohio Northern women's basketball team … She's the all-time winningest coach in program history, laying claim to a 331-182 record, a .645 winning percentage.