Box Score Whatever John Carroll head coach Kristie Maravalli told her team at halftime worked.

After a sluggish and uncharacteristically sloppy first half, one in which JCU committed eight turnovers and shot 35.5% from the floor, the Blue Streaks came out swinging after intermission and were rewarded for the extra effort with an 80-65 OAC win over visiting Marietta College.

"We got outplayed in the first half, and gave up way to many easy baskets," said Maravalli.  "In the second half, we stepped up our defense, got some stops, and we were the ones getting transition points."

The Blue Streaks outscored the Pioneers 49-30 after the break.  Prior to halftime, however, control of the contest belonged to Marietta.

Looking for its second league win of the season, Marietta played inspired basketball for the first 20 minutes. The Pioneers had an answer for everything thrown their way, culminating with Tori Dixon's skyscraper of a jumper in the closing seconds of the first half that gave the visitors a 35-31 lead and all the momentum heading into the locker room.

One bright spot early for JCU was the play of freshman Christie Wade, who connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the score at 10 with 10:27 to play before intermission. Wade finished the day with nine points.

"With no seniors on the roster, our players understand that the leadership falls primarily on the shoulders of our juniors, and the freshmen and sophomores need to continue to develop," said Maravalli. 

After halftime, the Blue Streaks roared back with a renewed vigor, tying the game at 37 less than three minutes into the final period.  The home team took its first lead since 29-28 on a pair of free throws from Beth Switzler to pull ahead 41-39 with 14:37 to play.

Minutes later, Missy Spahar scored nine straight points during a 14-2 run that provided JCU with a 57-45 advantage that put the Blue & Gold in control of the game.  John Carroll finished strong to wrap up the double digit victory and improve to 10-4 on the year, 3-4 in the OAC.

Spahar led all scorers with 25 points, while Elissa Day scored 14 on 5-of-8 from the field for the home team. Tori Dixon and Candice Alexander both scored 13 to pace Marietta.

 "We need to continue to be tough on defense, even when our shots are not falling," added Maravalli.  "But today showed what we are capable of when everyone plays hard and embraces their roles."