box score
John Carroll ourebounded Otterbein by a significant margin, but the host Cardinals won the more important battle as the Blue Streaks fell by an 87-79 score this afternoon in the Ohio Athletic Conference opener for both schools in Westerville, Ohio.
The Blue Streaks grabbed 57 caroms on the day as compared to 33 for Otterbein, including 31 from the offensive glass, but could not translate that success into enough points to overcome a hot shooting Cardinals club.
For the third consecutive game, the Streaks got off to a slow start and found themselves down by a 17-7 score just six minutes into the contest. Just like in the previous two games, however, John Carroll was able to climb back in to the competition. Back-to-back three point field goals by Rachael Price and Lana Kiko put John Carroll ahead, 35-33, with 3:51 to play in the opening period.
The lead would exchange hands a few times before Otterbein reeled off seven of the last eight points to take a 42-38 advantage into the intermission.
Unlike the first half, Otterbein would hold the lead throughout the second. The Cardinals jumped out to another fast start, as a lay-up by Sara Fee with 13:32 showing on the second half gave her team a 63-52 lead.
JCU seemed to have yet another answer when it went onn 18-7 run that was capped by an Alex D'Amico jumper that cut Otterbein's lead to 70-67 with 7:34 left in the contest.
Otterbein responded with a 10-2 run of its own to take an 80-72 lead with just under four minutes to play. John Carroll would whittle the deficit to four points on a Caitlyn Sureck lay-up with 26 seconds remaining, but teh Cardinals made five of six free throws down the stretch to ice the victory.
Fee led Otterbein (3-3, 1-0 OAC) with a game-high 22 points, accrued on 9-12 shooting from the field and 4-5 from the charity stripe. Kati Volkmer recorded 16 points, while Laura Roth (14) and Ana Gamble (13) also reached double figures. Gamble also had a game-high seven assists
John Carroll (2-3, 0-1 OAC) was paced by 20 points from Price, while Kiko and Laura Gruber contributed 11 points apiece. Price was 7-12 from the field and 5-8 from three-point range to help deliver a season-high point total.
