Defense defined the John Carroll University women's basketball team effort on Sunday afternoon.

After facing a 37-31 deficit at halftime, the Blue Streaks were able to limit the Nazareth College Golden Eagles to two points in the third quarter, providing the boost they needed to jump ahead and claim a 70-48 victory in a non-conference bout at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

Freshman Nicole Heffington had her third collegiate double double in four games with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while junior Chelbi Graham (12), junior Kahrin Spear (12) and sophomore Dani Carlson (1) each found their way to double figures in the scoring column.

Graham established her presence in the post within four minutes of the opening tip-off, tallying six points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field, propelling the Blue Streaks to a 6-4 advantage.

Following a rapid exchange of baskets, Nazareth would storm back with a 16-4 run – spearheaded by freshman Haley Schoerlerman and sophomore guard Lizzie Straub with a pair of four-point bursts off the bench – to put the score at 22-15 after one quarter of play.

The pendulum of momentum swung back to the Blue Streaks, as Heffington and Abby Adler combined for seven unanswered points, forcing head coach Kelly Dunne to take a second-quarter timeout with a trimmed, three-point lead.

Rachel Benedict found her sharpshooter form, knocking down a pair of shots from beyond the perimeter, before Straub rattled off five consecutive points to eventually put JCU in a 37-31 rut heading into the intermission.

"We had early foul trouble with our upperclassmen on the perimeter, and because of it you saw a lot of turnovers in the first half," said head coach Kelly Morrone.

A 7-0 rally to start the second half was just what the doctor ordered for the Blue and Gold, as Carlson, Graham and Sprecher provided the instant spark to regain a 38-37 lead with five minutes, 23 seconds left in the third quarter.

"We did a good job rebounding and taking care of the ball," Morrone said.

John Carroll sustained its defensive intensity throughout the period, holding Nazareth to two points on a 1-for-11 shooting skid from the field, lifting the home crowd to their feet in response to a 46-39 lead after three quarters.

"In the second half, we really locked down defensively," said Morrone. "We paid attention to applying the [scouting report]."

More of the same energy carried over to the final period, as a balanced scoring attack – headlined by five-plus points for each of the five starters – prevented the Golden Eagles from cutting the margin to single-digits in the last 10 minutes.

"We shared the ball really, really well today," Morrone said. "I think it had Nazareth – who is a pretty good team – kind of picking their poison (for) who it was going to be. Any team that's firing on all cylinders like that is hard to guard, especially when we have really good post passers, too."

Free throws from Graham and Heffington sealed the win, with strong moves in the paint drawing enough contact to yield a foul. Freshman Brielle Zbydniewski splashed two three-pointers in the last minute alone to put the last touches on the final tune-up before conference play.

"We were pleased in the effort, definitely in the second half," said Morrone. "Just something we want to build on."    

The Blue Streaks open their OAC slate against the Muskingum University Fighting Muskies on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 3 p.m. from the Performance Court in New Concord, Ohio.