Lee Jennings (Stow, OH, Stow-Monroe Falls) won't forget tonight any time soon for a number of reasons.

Perhaps it was being honored before the game as John Carroll's new career scoring champion. More than likely, it will also be for how she ended the evening.

It was Jennings who partially blocked Hannah Oakley's potential game-tying shot in the paint to secure the Blue Streaks 68-66 victory over the Muskingum Fighting Muskies Wednesday night at the DeCarlo Varsity Center.

Box Score

It was also a tremendous night for freshman Missy Spahar (Willowick, OH, Mentor Lake Catholic), who finished with 20 points and 11 boards to compliment Jennings' near triple double of 27 points, 11 boards and nine assists



John Carroll (13-11, 8-9 OAC) needed a win tonight to secure at least a seventh place finish in the conference and avoid a first round meeting in the OAC tournament with nationally ranked Mount Union. Muskingum (11-13, 9-8 OAC) began the evening tied for fifth in conference play and, as a result of tonight's loss, will most likely not host a post-season tournament game.

The Ohio Athletic Conference this season has seven teams who entered play tonight above the .500 mark on the year. This evening's battle between two teams who are right in the thick of things with the OAC Tournament less than a week away proved to have a post-season atmosphere.

The first half begun with a barrage of three-point shots from both teams. In the first eight and a half minutes of the game alone, Muskingum shot five of twelve from deep and the Blue Streaks countered with three treys of their own. John Carroll's poor defensive rotation in their 2-3 zone continuously gave Muskingum open looks at the basket, which was a major contributor to JCU's 28-20 deficit with 8:06 to play.

After John Carroll head coach Kristie Maravalli called a full timeout to make a few adjustments, John Carroll's defensive intensity became increasingly more noticeable. John Carroll ended the first half on a 13-6 scoring run to pull within one point of the lead at the break, 34-33.

"We really just tried to settle down and play our game after falling behind by eight," said Maravalli afterwards. "We were glad to be within at half and that momentum carried us in the second half."

Carissa Bosch led all scorers at the break with 11 points thanks to three triples. Amanda Dobbins snagged eight of Muskingum's 26 first half rebounds. Missy Spahar (Willowick, OH, Mentor Lake Catholic) countered with 10 points of her own and led the team with five boards. Jennings cashed in nine points and five first half assists to help facilitate the Streaks' late first half run.

JCU jumped out of the gates in the second half. Emilee Ritchie (Stow, OH, Stow - Monroe Falls ) hit a three-ball from the right wing at 18:02, but her bucket was quickly answered by a Bosch deep ball. Spahar countered with a two pointer of her own to put the Blue Streaks up 44-39 with 17:40 remaining.

Jennings continued to drive at the basket and finish, but Muskingum simply refused to go away. With 13:31 left, Muskingum clinged to a 49-48 lead. Only three and a half minutes later, Suzanne Nichols hit a layup to tie the game at 55-55.

The teams continued to battle back and forth on the defensive ends of the floor. When it was all said and done, John Carroll committed 20 turnovers - they averaged only 13 per contest entering the game, good for second-best from coast to coast. Amanda Dobbins hit a short jumper after a Muskingum steal to put her team ahead 63-61. Ritchie followed that hoop with her second travel in three trips down the floor, forcing Coach Maravalli to call for a stoppage in play with 4:45 left.

One minute later, Jennings took over. After a piar of free throws to tie things at 63-63 with 3:45 to play, Jennings went back on defense for only a handful of seconds before swatting a Musky 3-ball attempt. The senior got the loose ball from Spahar and went coast to coast, drawing the foul on her lay-up. Despite missing her and-1 chance, JCU led 65-63 with 3:20 on the clock.

Emilee Ritchie came up with a time-killing offensive rebound after Jennings missed a 13-footer. With two minutes to go and the score tied at 65, Jennings drove to the rim but was stuffed by Dobbins. Trusty freshman Allison Lustig (Palo Alto , CA, Archbishop Mitty) kept the play alive however, and Jennings eventually scored from inside the paint.

Strong defense would keep the score at 67-66 in favor of John Carroll with 1:10 left after a Hannah Oakley free throw to cut the lead to a single point. Jennings ran the shot clock nearly all the way down, but missed her attempt from the floor with less than a minute to go. Dobbins came up with her biggest of 12 boards on the night, but the Muskingum offense couldn't find the twine. Now with the shot clock off, JCU led 67-66 with 20 seconds to play.

Muskingum presented suffocating pressure, but once again Lustig kept her composure (and her balanace) as she tip toed the line on the inbound. She quickly dished off to Ritchie, who was fouled and split the pair. 

With only 15 seconds to play, Oakley tried to force up a shot in the paint. But with Lee Jennings leading the charge, John Carroll would walk away winners, 68-66.

"Tonight was special for me before the game started, but I like wins," said Jennings after her performance. "Our last defensive stand tonight is a momentum builder for us heading into next week. We have to lock down defensively if we want to win a championship and tonight we proved we can do it against one of the league's more physical teams."

While bodies were drained, spirits were not. And neither was desire  -- something the John Carroll head coach loved to see.

"Lee is always so entertaining to watch," continued Maravalli. "She comes up with big plays that don't even show up in the stat sheet for us that make her even more valuable on the floor. It was a crazy basketball game and she did a good job keeping her composure and helping the team keep their composure down the stretch."