Women's Basketball uses 30-3 first half run to post a 73-59 OAC Tournament quarterfinal win over John Carroll

Women's Basketball uses 30-3 first half run to post a 73-59 OAC Tournament quarterfinal win over John Carroll
February 20, 2024

ADA — Fourth-seeded Ohio Northern used a 30-3 first half run to take a 40-14 halftime lead and cruised to a 73-59 win over fifth-seeded John Carroll in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Wednesday evening.

| OAC Championships Site |

The Basics

  • Records: Ohio Northern (16-9 overall), John Carroll (13-13 overall)
  • Venue: ONU Sports Center - Ada, Ohio

The Game

  • Fifth-year senior All-American Brynn Serbin (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) scored a game-high 19 points, gave out six assists, grabbed three rebounds and forced three turnovers to lead ONU.
  • Senior Kristen Luersman (Fort Jennings) added nine points and four rebounds.
  • Sophomore Noelle Ruane (St. Marys) and freshman Chloee Glenn (Glandorf/Ottawa-Glandorf) chipped in nine points apiece off the bench.
  • Junior Brooke Allen (Woodville/Woodmore) put up six points and snagged three rebounds.
  • Junior Mackenzie Suprano (Cutler/Waterford) had eight rebounds and five points off the bench.
  • Ava Ryncarz led the Blue Streaks with 17 points.
  • Northern used a 16-0 run over a 5:23 span at the end of the first quarter and into the second quarter to erase an 11-10 deficit and grab a 26-11 lead with 7:32 left in the half.
  • The Blue Streaks got within 26-14, when ONU went on a 14-0 run over the final 6:18 of the half to cap the 30-3 run and lead 40-14 at halftime.
  • JCU climbed to within 52-34 in the final minute of the third quarter.
  • Junior Layla Dials (Willard) would score with 5:41 left to give the Polar Bears their largest lead of the night at 69-39.
  • Northern would empty the bench and John Carroll would close the game on a 20-4 run to make the final 73-59.
  • Ohio Northern made 31-of-66 field goals for 47.0 percent and was 4-of-21 from beyond the arc for 19.0 percent while JCU was 19-of-55 from the floor for 34.5 percent and finished 5-of-21 on 3-pointers for 23.8 percent.
  • ONU made 7-of-11 free throws for 63.6 percent and JCU was 16-of-23 from the line for 69.6 percent.
  • The Polar Bears out-rebounded the Comets by a 41-35 margin.

Notables

  • Serbin's 19-point game marks this her 19th game in double digits this season.
  • Northern is now 48-32 all-time against JCU, including a 25-11 mark in Ada and a 3-7 record in the OAC Tournament.
  • Serbin is ONU's all-time leader in career steals with 295 and assists with 390.
  • Serbin ranks second on ONU's all-time career scoring list with 1,273 points. She ranks third all-time with 182 made 3-pointers in her career, is 11th all-time in made free throws with 219, is 12th all-time in rebounds with 570 and sixth all-time with 436 made field goals.
  • Serbin is also tied for fifth on ONU's Top-10 Single Game Scoring with 32 points.
  • Serbin is the only women's basketball player in ONU history to tally at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals in her career.
  • Fourth-year head coach Mark Huelsman is now 66-30 at Ohio Northern for a winning percentage of .688.

Up Next

  • The Polar Bears return to action on Thursday when they play at top-seeded Baldwin Wallace in a semifinal game of the OAC Tournament at 7 pm at Ursprung Gymnasium.