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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Olivia Nagy scores 1,000th point vs. BW
Tim Phillis, News Herald
Olivia Nagy is pictured here scoring her 1,000th point at JCU.
65
Baldwin Wallace BW 10-3,7-1 OAC
68
Winner John Carroll JCU 12-2,7-1 OAC
Baldwin Wallace BW
10-3,7-1 OAC
65
Final
68
John Carroll JCU
12-2,7-1 OAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Baldwin Wallace BW 15 11 22 17 65
John Carroll JCU 20 13 16 19 68

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Noah Tylutki '21, Graduate Assistant

Women's Basketball Claws Past Rival Yellow Jackets in Home Conquest

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The stakes were high in the rematch of last season's Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament championship for both the John Carroll Women's Basketball team and crosstown rival Baldwin Wallace.

For JCU, ranked No. 12 in the latest D3hoops.com poll, the team was trying to avoid a second consecutive home OAC loss and work its way back to the top of the OAC standings. For BW, ranked No. 11, the visitors were looking to keep a perfect OAC record intact and avenge the three consecutive losses to the Blue Streaks from last season.

Fortunately, John Carroll was able to fend off a hungry Yellow Jacket team, as the hosts escaped with a 68-65 victory at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

"We wanted to make a statement coming into this game," said senior Olivia Nagy. "We knew we had to beat them to set a precedent and we played really hard as a team. We were positive the whole time even through our mistakes and are very proud of this win as a team."

Similar to the OAC Championship game last spring, the Blue Streaks started off hot, as they scored the first four points of the game and raced to a 12-5 lead off a Nagy layup with 4:40 left in the first quarter.

With 1:20 left in the opening stanza, the senior Nagy recorded her 1,000th point of her career on a Gabby Gevaudan assist to become just the 17th player in program history to accomplish this feat.

"It feels great," Nagy said. "I never got to that in high school so it's great to finally get there."

The Yellow Jackets closed the gap to as little as three, but another Nagy layup in the closing seconds helped JCU to a 20-15 advantage after one quarter.

John Carroll kept their momentum early in the second quarter, as the Blue Streaks pushed their lead to as many as nine before BW went on a 7-0 run to make it a two point game 26-24 with 4:18 remaining in the half.

However, a Nicole Heffington 3-pointer sparked a 7-2 Blue Streak run to end the quarter up 33-26.

John Carroll jumped out to a 39-30 lead just three minutes into the third, but the Yellow Jackets did not go down without a fight as they took their first lead of the game 48-47 with 32 seconds left in the quarter on a Megan Hensel layup.

Heffington answered right back with a jumper to regain the lead 49-48 as the third came to a close.

Like a heavyweight boxing match, both teams traded blows, as the lead changed four times in the first 5:13 of the fourth.

The Blue Streaks took control in the next four minutes, as they led 66-60 with 31 seconds left on two Hannah Bouchy free throws. BW swarmed back with a quick 3-pointer from Carolyn Wochele and push it to a one possession game.

After two free throws from JCU's Sarah Balfour, the Yellow Jackets made it close once again with a Hensel triple with 14 seconds remaining to make it 68-65.

JCU missed both free throws after being fouled on the ensuing possession and BW had a chance to tie the game in the waning seconds. With three ticks left, Megan Scheibelhut attempted a 3-pointer, but the shot grazed off the front of the rim and the Blue Streaks hung onto defeat Baldwin Wallace for the fourth straight time and take six of the last eight matchups.

After taking the lead for good with 4:47 left, the Blue Streak defense clamped down as they forced five Yellow Jacket turnovers during the timeframe. 

BW also only made one of five free throw attempts in that span.

"We knew we had to step up our defense," Nagy said. "Coach Bob Booher always says it's a next play mentality. If they make a big play and we make a mistake, we just keep going and keep playing as hard as we can, and we did that tonight."

Heffington had a game-high 18 points while Nagy recorded 16 points, 13 rebounds, and six blocks. Sarah Balfour also added a career-high 17 points. Nagy and Heffington each had a game-high 16 points while Nagy recorded 13 rebounds and six blocks. Sarah Balfour also added a career-high 17 points for John Carroll.

"I think this win gets us back on track," Andrews said. "We lost that home game a month ago to Marietta and having players step up besides Nicole and Olivia like Sarah Balfour was huge. I think that just helps the overall confidence of the group."

During the first half, Nagy hit another milestone as she slid into the top five in rebounds all-time in JCU history. On the way, she became just the sixth Blue Streak to ever record 750 or more rebounds in a career and passed Andrews' total when she donned the Blue and Gold.

"I'm so proud," Andrews remarked with a smile. "You're averaging a double-double a game. How don't you break records? I'm excited to see how she finishes the season."

Scheibelhut led the way for Baldwin Wallace as she scored 11 points. Lilly Edwards, the team's leading scorer, recorded a double-double but was held to only 10 points, which tied for a season-low. As a team, BW only shot 30% from beyond the arc.

"If you look at BW and JCU on paper, we're pretty close in a lot of categories," Andrews said. "We needed to do what we knew we were better at and we needed to stop them at what they were better at. For tonight, that was the 3-point line and Lilly Edwards, and I think we had a great defensive focus and team energy that we ran with."

The Blue Streaks will remain at home on Saturday, January 22 as they take on Muskingum for Alumnae Day. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm.
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