John Carroll allowed 15 points in the opening quarter.

The rest of the game, the Blue Streaks allowed just 24.

That ramped up defensive effort enabled the home team to enforce their will on what would become a 65-39 win over visiting Heidelberg Wednesday evening in an Ohio Athletic Conference match-up at the DeCarlo Varsity Center.

Both teams came out of the gates slow, but Heidleberg jumped to an early lead, finding success in the low post. The Student Princes had the lead after one period of play, 15-9.

At the start of the second quarter, the Blue Streaks found their groove on both ends of the floor. They went on a 16-0 run to start the period, kicked off by a Dani Carlson three-pointer. Alli Adelsperger ended to run for the Berg by sinking a contested three ball, but by then the damage had been done. At the end of the first half, the Blue Streaks had a commanding 30 -20 advantage.

The Blue Streaks opened the second half with the same energy they had in the second quarter, expanding the lead to 19 by the start of the fourth.

Excellent defense by Abby Adler and Heffington held the visitors to just nine points in the third after only scoring five in the second quarter.

From there, JCU cruised in the fourth to a 26-point victory. 

Heidelberg had a hot start, but could not get the momentum back. Maddy Crawford was a bright spot for the Student Princes, scoring 12 points with ten rebounds and three steals. Adelsperger was the top scorer for Heidelberg with 13 markers.

With the loss, Heidelberg drops to 5-9 overall and 1-6 in the OAC.

This game saw strong play from a number of post players complimented by strong outside shooting from Adler and Carlson. Nicole Heffington was effective both inside and outside of the paint. Her play making ability and shooting were on full display, as she shot 60 percent from behind the arc (3-5).  Heffington led the Blue Streaks in scoring with 16 and had eight rebounds as well as three steals. 

Reigning OAC Player of the Week and USBWA National Player of the Week Olivia Nagy showed no signs of letting down. She had 14 points to go along with game highs in rebounds (12), assists (6) and blocks (4). 

Kaelyn Underwood came off the bench and had a stellar performance with a career-high 11 points on 4-6 shooting (primarily in the post), and pulled down four boards.

"It was really fun," said Underwood after the game. "My teammates hyped me up, and gave me confidence."

Adler and Carlson combined for five triples on the night as John Carroll won its program record 20th consecutive home game.
 
The win allowed John Carroll to stay in sole possession of second place in the OAC, with their record improving to 12-2 overall and 7-1 in conference play. Baldwin Wallace remained in first place at 8-0 in league action with a win over Ohio Northern tonight.

The Blue Streaks' next game will be in Columbus on Saturday where they will take on the Capital University Crusaders at 3:00 pm.