Seniors Score in Bunches in a Decisive Win for Women's Basketball over Muskingum

2/20/2021 8:40:00 PM | By: Kyle Kelly, Senior Staff Writer

Box Score UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- It was a night to remember for the John Carroll University Women's basketball team and the six seniors from this year's class.

Led by a combined 41 points from the senior class on their special night, the Blue Streaks defeated Muskingum 88-52 at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center on Saturday, Feb. 20.

John Carroll improves to 9-1 on the season and the JCU seniors now hold a record of 62-31 during their careers. Additionally, the Blue Streaks are now 37-8 at home over the last four years.

"I think the best thing about them is they are all so humble," Head Coach Beth Andrews said of the senior class after the game. "They've been successful during their careers. They do a good job of knowing when they've done something wrong and knowing what to fix.

"They also do a good job of keeping each other accountable. The underclassmen really appreciate their leadership and mentorship. I think everyone is trying to take it all in for these 12 games that we have."

Two of JCU's staple seniors, Nicole Heffington (8 points) and Abby Adler (3 points), wasted no time to ensure it was a memorable evening from the start. The two upperclassmen sparked an 11-1 advantage in less than four minutes into the game. It was all smooth sailing from there.

The Blue Streaks outscored the Fighting Muskies 23-9 in the first quarter. Heffington led all scorers with 10 points through the opening eight minutes and finished with 19 points and six rebounds. Fellow senior Sarah Sprecher also contributed six boards, to go along with five points and three assists.

In the second quarter, the Blue and Gold went on to add another 22 points — with the help of sophomores Kayla Gudel and Jaylen Hoffmann. The second-year tandem scored 11 points in the opening half and led a 43-point effort off the bench for the game.

"Jaylen is doing a great job of listening. She is seeing what is happening on the floor prior to going in. Whether that is good things or bad things," Andrews said. "She's doing a really great job of taking the tips from Michaela Barnes of being an undersized guard."

Hoffmann scored a career-high 11 points. In addition, Gudel has notched career-games on back-to-back nights with eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.

"We've just been talking to Kayla about consistency and she brought that," Andrews said. "She's been consistent in practices leading up to the game and now she is able to carry it over to these game minutes."

During the final 1:38 of the half, senior Dani Carlson found her shot with five points heading into the locker room. At that point, the Blue and Gold held a 45-22 advantage at the break.

Carlson, who ranks No. 39 in NCAA Division-III in 3-point percentage, totaled 11 points including three 3-pointers.

Senior Gabrielle Gevaudan aided JCU with three rebounds in the second stanza.

Muskingum kept JCU honest in the second half with a score of 43-30 but the Blue Streaks remained ahead all game.

Early in the fourth quarter, senior Stephanie Labas scored a layup, which gave JCU a 33-point lead. The Blue Streaks led by as much as 36 points in the game.

The Blue and Gold's best statistical measures of the night were found near the rim, where JCU held the advantage in rebounds (53-32) and points in the paint (46-26).

Next up, John Carroll will play host to Otterbein University on Friday and Saturday for the final two games of the regular season.

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