Muskingum MUSK 3-3,0-1 OAC

John Carroll JCU 4-1,1-0 OAC

Muskingum MUSK

3-3,0-1 OAC

Final

Dec. 03, 2022

John Carroll JCU

4-1,1-0 OAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Muskingum MUSK	16	12	16	15	59
John Carroll JCU	21	19	13	9	62

Summary
Box Score

Ben Peskar

The Blue Streaks survived Muskingum's comeback scare.

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 12/3/2022 6:35:00 PM | Maddie Maselko, Senior Staff Writer

Women's Basketball Holds On for OAC Opening Win over Muskingum

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS -- After taking a close road win over Denison before the Thanksgiving holiday, the John Carroll Women's Basketball team was ready to open Ohio Athletic Conference play at home against Muskingum.

The Blue Streaks won in a tough competition with the Fighting Muskies, 62-59.

The Blue Streaks move to 4-1 overall on the year with the conference-opening win.

John Carroll got on the board first with a layup by Kaelyn Underwood. The Blue Streaks continued to lead in the first quarter until Muskingum took a narrow 9-8 lead.

Both teams had a field-goal percentage of 50 percent in the first quarter, but the Blue Streaks established a 21-16 lead. Underwood dominated the offense for the Blue Streaks, claiming 12 of John Carroll's 21 points.

The gritty play between the Fighting Muskies and the Blue Streaks continued in the second quarter. Muskingum narrowed the John Carroll lead to just two points before the JCU offense took off.

Early in the second quarter, a layup by Bella Carcioppolo started a seven-point run for the Blue and Gold before a Muskingum three-pointer broke the streak.

Muskingum once again tried to hack away at the Blue Streaks' lead, but the John Carroll offense continued to come out strong to establish their comfortable 12-point lead heading into the second half, 40-28.

The scoring started quickly to open the third quarter. The Fighting Muskies got on the board in the first thirty seconds, but the Blue Streaks remained unphased.

John Carroll continued to answer Muskingum's scoring throughout the third quarter. Muskingum was able to slightly narrow the John Carroll lead to 53-44.

Injuries forced the young talent for the Blue & Gold to step up in the second half. With both captains out, the younger players of the likes of Maddie Pietrowski, Ava Ryncarz, and Carmen Heuker stepped up.

After three physical quarters, both teams slowed at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Carcioppolo broke the dry spell for the Blue Streaks with 6:57 left in the game.

The Blue Streaks and the Fighting Muskies traded field goals, but Muskingum began to creep closer to John Carroll's lead. Muskingum dominated the offense in the fourth quarter and narrowed the score to 61-59, before drawing a John Carroll timeout with 1:05 left.

A heads-up steal by Pietrowski prevented a potential tie score with 35 seconds left in the game. Fouls by Muskingum prevented John Carroll from scoring, but sent Hallie Landies to the free-throw line, with Landies going one for two at the line.

Muskingum took a timeout after getting the rebound but was unable to score. John Carroll took the win with a final score of 62-59.

Even though she departed the game in the first half, Underwood led the team in scoring with 17 points. Young talent in Ryncarz, Pietrowski, and Carciopollo rounded out the top scoring for the Blue Streaks with 15 points for Ryncarz, while Pietrowski and Carciopollo each scored eight points on the day. Pietrowski also led the team in assists with four on the day.

Ryncarz's 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists were all career-highs for the young freshmen.

"That's a huge win for us," said Ryncarz. "It was a tough one, but a good win for us to work through it as a team and figure it out. We still have a lot to work on, but it's nice to walk away with the win."

Andrews was pleased to get the victory, but knows plenty of work remains in the coming weeks.

"Two of our starters suffered injuries, so to have a bunch of freshmen and sophomores to play big minutes and to figure it out together and getting the victory is very important," said Head Coach Beth Andrews '15. "Ava has put a couple good games together. She's comfortable with the ball in her hands and being able to score in small or big minutes. I'm glad to see her be consistent scoring wise and I think she'll do some nice things for us this year.

"Muskingum is a really tough team. They didn't go away, they made us work extremely hard. It showed us what we have to work on. The OAC is a dogfight every day. It showed the freshmen and sophomores that the rest of the season will be difficult. We need to grind, focus on scouting, and pay attention to detail."

Conference play continues for the Blue Streaks as they will face rival Mount Union at home Wednesday, December 7 at 7 p.m. in the DeCarlo Varsity Center.

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