The confines of the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center are becoming more friendly by the day for the John Carroll University women's basketball team this season.

For the second time in as many games of the 2018 calendar year played on their home court, the Blue Streaks used a pair of career-high games from two of its freshmen to defeat the visiting Wilmington College Quakers, 73-67, on Saturday afternoon.

Nicole Heffington registered a career-high 29 points, while teammate and classmate Abby Adler posted a career-high 16 points as head coach Kelly Morrone and company moved up into a three-way tie for eighth place in the Ohio Athletic Conference.

Three-point shooting proved to be the difference, as John Carroll went 11-of-19 (57.9%) from the arc to sustain a lead for 33 minutes, 58 seconds (84.9% of the game). Wilmington shot 2-of-12 from the charity stripe, and had a handful of costly misses that paved the way for a post-game celebration in front of a joyous home crowd.

In her first collegiate start, Adler held the hot hand throughout the early stages of the contest, shooting a perfect 3-of-3 for eight points in the first quarter alone. Heffington fueled a 7-2 run, eventually propelling the Blue Streaks to a 16-13 advantage after 10 minutes of play.

The tide turned in the second quarter, as the Fightin' Quakers rattled off seven straight points – five of which came from Samantha Hooper – to take a 23-20 lead, their largest of the game. JCU responded on two consecutive three-pointers from Brielle Zbydniewski and Heffington, forcing head coach Jerry Scheve to take a timeout. Hooper hit a trey at the halftime buzzer, trimming the Blue and Gold lead to six.

The 15-minute intermission did not halt the home team's momentum.

Heffington continued to fill up the hoop with ease, knocking down a mid-range jumper and two three-pointers in a five-minute, 30-second span. The freshman sensation's scoring surge was supplemented with superior defense, as the Blue and Gold limited Wilmington to 12 points in the third period. Her three-pointer with 21 seconds remaining raised her production to 25 points, and JCU to a 57-44 lead.

Facing a full-court press, head coach Kelly Morrone was able to devise a plan to maintain a double-digit advantage, headlined by the ball handling of Kahrin Spear and the sharpshooting of Sarah Sprecher. Hooper, Mackenzie Campbell and Emily Harman – all of whom had at least 10 points – kept the opposition in the contest, knocking down shots to cut the margin to as little as four points with 1:05 remaining in regulation.

Free throws from Spear and Adler sealed the winning effort.

John Carroll improved to 4-11 overall and 2-6 in the OAC, while the Fightin' Quakers fell to 8-7 and 3-5 in league play.

Next, the Blue Streaks will finish their two-game homestand against the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. from the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.