In the preseason, head coach Kelly Morrone insisted that in order for this year's John Carroll team to be successful, they must make defense and transition a priority.

If there was a case study for this philosophy working, it took place in the late morning and early afternoon of Thursday, December 20, 2018, in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Using 43 turnovers as their fuel, the Blue Streaks rolled to a 74-36 victory over Penn State-Behrend on the second and final day of the St. Pete Classic. The 43 turnovers led to 49 Blue Streak points as JCU improved to 8-1 all-time against the Lions in a series that dates back to 1989.

John Carroll jumped out to an 18-6 lead after one period of play, as the Blue & Gold created 15 turnovers int he first ten minutes alone.

The Lions briefly cut the lead back down to single digits at 20-11 in the opening minutes of the second period, but the Blue Streaks responded with a 12-0 run and never looked back.

JCU held a 37-18 advantage at the half and then used a 15-2 run to close out the third quarter for a commanding 56-25 lead.

Nicole Heffington was the only player on either roster to reach double figures in scoring today, as she collected 17 points on 7-10 shooting from the field. She made her only three point attempt and was 2-2 from the free throw line.

A total of 13 players got into the scorebook for John Carroll, which improved to 7-4 on the year.

Chelbi Graham and Sara Spicer joined Heffington for the team lead in rebounds with six, Kahrin Spear had a team-high four assists and Abby Adler had a team-best five steals that helped build a total of 21 for the Blue Streaks.

Penn State-Behrend, which fell to 3-8, were paced by five points from Kourtney Beamesderfe.

The 43 turnovers by the Lions are the most committed by an opponent of the Blue Streaks since those records were kept beginning with the 2000-2001 season. The previous high mark was 35 from Marietta on December 8, 2001.