Women’s Basketball falls 68-43 at #8 John Carroll
By Wes Mayberry
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — Senior Jaidyn Hale (Lima/Bath) scored a team-high 11 points for the Ohio Northern women's basketball team as it fell 68-43 to No. 8 John Carroll at the DeCarlo Varsity Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Polar Bears fall to 14-7 overall and 8-6 in the OAC, while the Blue Streaks improve to 18-3, 13-2.
Hale was the only Polar Bear to score in double figures. Senior Alissa Stahler (Lima/Shawnee) posted seven points, and junior Brynn Serbin (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) added six points, 10 rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Olivia Nagy finished just shy of a triple-double, tallying 17 points, 16 rebounds and eight blocks to lead JCU. Nicole Heffington added 12 points and five steals.
John Carroll opened the game on a 15-4 run capped by a 3-pointer from Sarah Balfour and took an 18-8 lead into the second quarter.
Balfour sparked JCU's strong early surge with seven points as the Blue Streaks held ONU to 3-of-19 (15.8%) shooting in the first quarter.
Stahler opened the second quarter with a 2-point jumper to cut the JCU lead to eight, but ONU was unable to get any closer in the period.
The Blue Streaks answered with an 18-9 run that included 3-pointers from Heffington and Balfour for a 36-19 lead with 2:43 left in the second quarter.
But the Polar Bears fought back, getting 3-pointers from Serbin and Hale over the final 2:06 to cut the deficit to 12, 37-25, going into halftime.
JCU outscored ONU 13-3 in the third quarter, taking a 50-28 lead into the fourth en route to the victory.
Ohio Northern made 18-of-71 field goals for 25.4% and was 3-of-18 from 3-point range for 16.7%, while the Blue Streaks made 26-of-66 field goals for 39.4% and were 7-of-27 from beyond the arc for 25.9%.
The Polar Bears were 4-of-10 from the foul line for 40.0% while JCU was 9-of-12 for 75.0%.
JCU out-rebounded ONU by a 44-40 margin.
Northern returns to the court on Wednesday at 7 p.m. hosting Ohio Athletic Conference foe Heidelberg at the ONU Sports Center.