Teams look to have a lot of momentum heading into the start of conference play.

Backed by a strong defensive effort the John Carroll University women's basketball team topped 16th-ranked Ithaca in its last game prior to opening up OAC play.
 
John Carroll (5-0) kept its perfect record intact with a 65-51 win on Sunday afternoon inside the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center in University Heights, Ohio. Ithaca fell to 3-1. The Blue Streaks have now started each of the last three seasons out with a 5-0 slate.
 
The Blue Streaks raced out to a 9-0 lead being seven points from Beth Switzler and a layup from Emily Taylor. The Bombers, who missed their first six field goals did not get on the board until there was 14:36 remaining in the first half.
 
JCU used an 11-0 run to open up a 13-point lead with 8:55 remaining in the first half. Switzler was key again offensive chipping in seven points during the stretch. Ithaca responded with an 11-2 run of its own to trip JCU's lead to one with 1:27 remaining in the first half.
 
The Blue and Gold opened up a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game with 12:27 left in the second half on Sarah Cairnie's layup. John Carroll led by as many as 16 after Emily Taylor's field goal with 4:04 remaining.
 
John Carroll continued to dominate the second half outscoring Ithaca 33-22 over the final 20 minutes. The Bombers were held to 32 percent shooting in the second stanza and 37.3 percent for the game.
 
Switzler led John Carroll with a career-high 28 points. The senior added 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the year. Katie Battaglia added eight points while Erin Mog scored six points and distributed six assists.
 
John Carroll remains at home to open conference play with a 7:30 p.m. contest against Heidelberg on Wednesday, Dec. 3.