With the holidays looming, the John Carroll women's basketball team had a chance to notch their first Ohio Athletic Conference victory of 2016-17. 

John Carroll prevailed over Marietta College, 77-66, in the second half of the basketball doubleheader at the DeCarlo Varsity Center on Saturday.
 
Katlyn Spahar led the Blue Streaks with 27 points and five rebounds in the contest. Shmoo Pryor contributed 11 points in the game with one assist. Madi Steiner lead the team with two steals, including one in the fourth quarter that sealed the win for the Blue Streaks.
 
John Carroll found themselves down early 8-0 to the Pioneers after three missed layups. Sarah Sprecher scored first for the Blue Streaks when she turned her own defensive rebound into a three ball to bring the Pioneer lead down to five. After a Pioneer basket, Katelyn Spahar brought the deficit back down to five when she followed with a layup of her own to make it 10-5. After both teams traded two more baskets, Marietta still led JCU by five at the midway point of the quarter. 
 
With 2:00 left in the first quarter, JCU found themselves down 21-10. The Blue Streaks outscored the Pioneers 6-3 in the final seconds of the quarter to make it 24-16 in favor of Marietta. John Carroll found their stride in the second quarter.
 
After finding their squad down 35-21, Katelyn Spahar and Shmoo Pryor took over. Together, the two seasoned veterans combined for 12 of the Blue Streaks next 14 points. Pryor and Spahar both made two three pointers each and John Carroll fought their way back, going into halftime down 33-38.
 
Madi Steiner scored the first points of the third quarter with a three pointer to tie the game at 38 all. After two free throws gave back the lead to the Pioneers, Spahar made a three pointer and a free throw after being fouled on the shot to put the Blue Streaks back in front 42-40. Camille Adelman scored the last points of the quarter with a jumper to give the Blue Streaks a 58-53 lead. John Carroll outscored Marietta 23-15 in the third quarter.
 
JCU never gave up the lead the rest of the way. The Blue Streaks traded scores with the Pioneers early in the fourth quarter, but never saw their lead drop lower than three. 
 
With 2:00 left to play, a Chelbi Graham layup put JCU ahead 71-66. The Pioneers had to begin fouling to try to get the lead back. Spear was the first to go to the line for the Blue Streaks and extended their lead to 73-66. With 33 seconds left in the game, Madi Steiner stole an errant Pioneer pass; she all but sealed it when Marietta sent Spahar to the line to shoot two free throws.
 
The win brings the Blue Streaks to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the OAC. The loss dropped Marietta to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in league play.?