Women’s Basketball: #18 Ohio Northern (15-2 Overall, 9-1 OAC) at Wilmington (10-7 Overall, 4-6 OAC)

Thursday, January 26, 2023, 7 p.m. - Fred Raizk Arena, Wilmington, Ohio

Thursday's Preview: The Polar Bears continue Ohio Athletic Conference play on Thursday at Wilmington ... The game was postponed on Wednesday due to heavy snow expected in the area … Northern is tied atop the OAC standings with No. 10 Baldwin Wallace with a two-game lead on third-place Marietta … Wilmington is tied with John Carroll for sixth in the conference standings … The top six teams qualify for the OAC Tournament, which is scheduled for Feb. 21-25 … In the teams' first meeting this season, ONU came away with a 57-52 home win over Wilmington led by 18 points from sophomore Brooke Allen and 14 from senior Kasey Knippen … Northern is ranked No. 18 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll and is tied with Elizabethtown (Pa.) at No. 20 in the WBCA Top 25 Poll this week … ONU is coming off Saturday's 68-61 loss at Marietta, which ended a 12-game win streak … Allen posted 16 points and five rebounds, junior Kristen Luersman added 15 points and seven rebounds, and senior Brynn Serbin chipped in 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists … Through 17 games, Serbin (14.3 points per game), Luersman (11.6) and Allen (10.8) lead ONU in scoring … Serbin ranks second in the OAC in scoring average, and Luersman is tied for eighth … Luersman ranks second in the OAC in rebounding average with 8.7 per game and is tied for seventh in the conference with 14 blocks … Serbin has an OAC-high 79 assists and 48 steals … Serbin has made a team-best 32 3-pointers, which ranks third in the OAC, and is shooting 34.4% from beyond the arc … Serbin ranks second all-time at ONU with 190 career steals and is 19 shy of tying the program record of 209 set by Katie Mengos ('10-'13) … Serbin has 240 career assists, which ranks fifth all-time at ONU … The Polar Bears are holding opponents to 51.1 points per game on 31.7% shooting, including 26.7% from beyond the arc … Northern leads the OAC in points per game allowed and field goal percentage defense … Wilmington is coming off Saturday's 66-61 home loss to Baldwin Wallace … Freshman Jada Pohlen (15 points), sophomore Emma Wright (13) and senior Kennedy Lewis (11) led WC in scoring, and freshman Marisa Seiler added nine points and 14 rebounds … IN WC's loss at ONU earlier this season, Pohlen led the Quakers with 15 points, and Lewis added 12 … Through 17 games, Lewis leads WC with 12.9 points per game followed by Pohlen (9.3) and Seiler (8.6) … Lewis ranks fifth in the OAC in scoring and is tied for second in the conference with 53 assists … Seiler leads the team with 6.1 rebounds per game … Senior Cassidy Lovett ranks third in the OAC with 37 steals … Pohlen has made a team-high 28 3-pointers, which is tied for fourth in the OAC, and is shooting 36.4% from beyond the arc, which ranks 10th in the conference.

ONU Statistical Leaders:

All-Time Series: Ohio Northern leads the all-time series with Wilmington by a 36-23 margin, including a 13-12 mark in Wilmington … ONU has won four of the past five meetings and 19 of the past 20 … In the teams' meeting earlier this season, ONU came away with a 57-52 win in Ada on Dec. 7.

Head Coach Mark Huelsman: Huelsman is in his third season at ONU and has an overall record of 39-18, a winning percentage of .684.