The first 34 minutes seemed to have John Carroll on the verge of something special.

The agonizing final six minutes would abruptly bring the game, and season, to an end for the Blue Streaks.

Despite leading for 19 minutes and 44 seconds of the second half, John Carroll could not complete the upset bid in falling to host Baldwin-Wallace, 68-65, in an Ohio Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal round match up Tuesday night in Berea.

Box Score

In a game where its largest deficit was the final score, John Carroll was up the challange as the number six seed facing the #3 seed on its home court. 

The first half featured nine ties and eight lead changes as the teams jostled to build momentum. In the final four minutes, after Ali Stack buried a jumper to give the Yellow Jackets a 33-31 lead, the Blue Streaks closed out the period on an 8-0 run. A Lee Jennings three-point play gave JCU a 39-33 advantage at the break.

The Blue Streaks extended their run into the second half as back-to-back baskets by Whitney Hamilton and Caitlin Sureck would stake the visitors their largest lead of the night, 43-33, at the 18:03 mark.

Baldwin-Wallace was able to close to within a single point at 47-46 with 11:13 remaining on a bucket by Olivia French. But John Carroll staved off the run and rebuilt its lead to eight points (62-54) on a Sureck lay-up with just under six minutes to play.

Over the final 5:54, however, JCU would manage just one made field goal and one made free throw.

The Yellow Jackets, however, struggled to rally. Baldwin-Wallace would pull to within one point at 63-62 with 4:07 left, and at 65-64 with 2:07 showing on the clock. With a one point lead, John Carroll would miss a shot, turn the ball over and miss a free throw on its next three possessions. 

The missed free throw resulted in a foul, putting Catherine Spisak at the line with 16 ticks on the clock. The Baldwin-Wallace sophomore made both free throws to give Baldwin-Wallace its first lead off the second half at 66-65.

John Carroll had another turnover on its next possession, and French drained two free tosses to put the Yellow Jackets up by three. Jennings' desperation heave at the buzzer from half court fell short.

Baldwin-Wallace (19-7) was led by a game-high 18 points from Amanda Schroeder, who was 8-8 from the free throw line. Ariel Blough had 15 points and a game-high eight boards. The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Blue Streaks, 44-32.

John Carroll (11-14) was paced by 17 points from Jennings and 16 from Sureck. 

Jennings finished the year with single season school records for points (550), field goals (196) and free throws (151). Sureck finishes her career with the single season blocked shots record (62) and career blocked shots record (190)