Even by Lee Jennings standards, this was a night for the ages.
The Blue Streaks' junior guard scored a career-high and school record 39 points, including the final eight for John Carroll, to help the Blue Streaks post a 69-66 win over Otterbein College Wednesday night at the DeCarlo Varsity Center.
Box Score
“The plan was to attack their defense,” said Jennings, who was 15-32 from the field. “They tend to sag off a little bit and dare us to hit from the outside. It was just a matter of taking what they gave us.”
In the final 2:45, Jennings would make two field goals and two free throws, but none bigger than a pair of tosses with 32 seconds left that put JCU on top 68-66.
The Cardinals had two opportunities to take the lead but both three-point attempts missed the mark.
Jennings was sent to the line one last time with eight seconds left and made the first free throw for her 39th point, but missed the second to give Otterbein one last chance. But Kristin Kotterman's shot hit the front of the rim and the ball bounded away as time expired.
“We have been talking about hosting a playoff game here for four years, so every win is big,” said senior Laura Gruber, who finished with eight points and five rebounds off the bench. “Even when they had their runs, we were confident we could come back and get the win.”
After a stagnant first few minutes by both clubs, the two high powered offenses began to settle in. Otterbein provided the first surge of the game, using three pointers by Karli Volkmer and Kotterman as part of a 14-4 run to build a 20-12 lead.
But nine consecutive points by Lee Jennings would put John Carroll back on top, 21-20, with just over nine minutes to play in the half.
The game would feature three ties down the stretch before Otterbein's Katy Miller took over in the closing minutes. Fueled by a trio of three balls by Miller and capped by Shea McCoy's runner in the lane that beat the buzzer, the Cardinals used a 13-4 run to take a 39-33 advantage into the break.
The teams again started off slow in the second half with just four points tallied in the first three-and-a-half minutes. But a pair of fast break baskets by Lee Jennings and Laura Gruber capped a 6-0 run that saw JCU tie the game at 41-41 with 15:38 to play.
Otterbein quickly answered following an emphatic time out by head coach Connie Richardson, with McCoy draining a three-pointer. But John Carroll stayed solid on offense, using a pair of free throws by Laura Gruber and a Kate Mahoney three-pointer to regain the lead at 46-44 just inside 14 minutes left.
The lead would change hands four times over the next ten minutes before Lee Jennings tied the game at 62-62 with a three-point play at the 2:45 mark.
In addition to Jennings' 39, Caitlin Sureck contributed an 11-point, 11-rebound effort for John Carroll (11-10, 8-7 OAC), which improved to 5-5 at home this season.
Jennings broke the single game school record for most points set by Audrey Warnock when she tallied 37 against Grove City on January 14, 1989.
Otterbein (9-13, 6-9 OAC) was led by 17 points from McCoy and 15 from both Kotterman and Miler.
