Under normal circumstances, coming off an upset win would make a team feel good about its chances the next time out. But John Carroll would find that it lept from a victory in the frying pan into the fire.

Facing a team that had won seven of its last eight games and could arguably be playing the best basketball in the league, John Carroll fought hard but fell by a 91-79 count Saturday afternoon to host Wilmington College.

Box Score

The big story of the contest was how even most of the numbers were between the two teams except turnovers and rebounds. JCU coughed up the ball just five times compared to 19 for Wilmington, but the Quakers held a decisive 57-22 edge on the boards.

For its part, John Carroll did a good job of making Wilmington work for the win. The Blue Streaks led for most of the first 16 minutes of the game, stretching their advantage to as many as five points. When Missy Spahar (Willowick, OH, Mentor Lake Catholic) scored on a lay-up with 4:40 left, JCU till held a 35-32 lead.

But the Quakers came up with the game's most decisive maneuver, closing out the opening half on a 14-2 run. A pair of Allie Merenda three-pointers sparked the surge, and Wilmington entered the break with a 46-37 edge.

Wilmington picked up where it left off in the second half, scoring 19 of the first 29 points to build a 65-47 lead. 

But the Blue Streaks were not going down without a fight. On three occasions, JCU would whittle the deficit down to a mere six points. The last time was with 4:44 remaining, when Lee Jennings (Stow, OH, Stow-Monroe Falls) buried a jumper to make the score 80-74.

JCU could not close the gap further, however, as Bria Eslick's three-pointer the next trip down the floor seemed to be the back-breaker. The Blue Streaks never threatened again.

Jennings and Emilee Ritchie (Stow, OH, Stow - Monroe Falls ) each scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures for John Carroll (11-10, 7-9 OAC). Spahar added 17 points and Allison Lustig dropped in 11. 

The Blue Streaks remained in seventh place alone despite the loss.

Wilmington (13-10, 10-6 OAC), which moved into a third-place tie with its win, was paced by a game-high 22 points and 17 rebounds from Olivia Waters.