Wilmington (OH) WILM 4-7,1-3 OAC

John Carroll JCU 9-3,3-1 OAC

Wilmington (OH) WILM

4-7,1-3 OAC

Final

Jan. 04, 2025

John Carroll JCU

9-3,3-1 OAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Wilmington (OH) WILM	14	11	3	16	44
John Carroll JCU	22	17	13	25	77

Summary
Box Score

Jose Figueroa

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 1/4/2025 3:24:00 PM | Joe Ginley '16, SID

Women's Basketball Breezes Past Quakers to Ring in New Year

John Carroll got contributions from up and down the roster in a hot shooting day

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – Dominant defense helped John Carroll Women's Basketball ring in the new year with a one-sided conquest.

In the first game of 2025, the Blue Streaks catapulted past Wilmington College, 77-44.

The 33-point victory marked the largest in series history between the two teams.

Ball movement was the name of the game in the early going. Crisp passing led to open looks from 3-point range for the Blue Streaks. Ava Ryncarz sank an early triple to open an early 7-0 lead. Wilmington fought back into the game, but a pair of Ella Neitzel treys (Maddie Pietrowski and Brooke Laub provided the passes) led to a WC timeout at the 2:55 mark with JCU leading, 21-9. The Quakers went on a mini 5-1 run to end the quarter, but JCU still led by eight points heading into the second.

The Quakers' defense clamped down in the second stanza, as JCU needed most of the shot clock to get shots off. Kaylie McKenney and Pietrowski helped to jumpstart the offense with nice makes, and Graci Semptimphelter kept up the momentum with a wing three. Down the stretch, JCU excelled. A Ryncarz double plus a Semptimphelter 3-pointer added an exclamation point on the half. JCU enjoyed a 39-25 margin heading into the break.

The third stanza opened quietly, with the defenses dominating. Wilmington did not hit a shot from the field until the 2:13 mark. Meanwhile, Ryncarz and Neitzel continued to steer the offensive attack, pushing the margin to 20 points. Heuker finished out the period with a pair of free throws, pushing the lead to 52-28.

Katie Puletti caught fire at the start of the fourth for JCU, nailing a pair of 3-pointers and then driving through the defense for a layup. The Blue Streaks finished off the win late with ease.

"We knew coming in that they would play zone, so that the three's would be open and we could get open looks. We worked on it all week in practice," said Puletti. "The coaches talked to me before the game, and told me to have a confident mindset. The confidence they have in me helped me knock them down."

Ava Ryncarz topped all scorers with 17 points, adding 10 rebounds for the double-double. Ella Neitzel and Katie Puletti each nabbed 11 points in impressive efforts, while Maddie Pietrowski added 10 points.

Guest coach Ed Mish, an Academic Success Advisor at John Carroll, seemed to bring some good fortunes shooting-wise. JCU notched 11 3-pointers as a team, the fourth time hitting double digits this season. Dominance on the boards was also a key, as JCU outrebounded Wilmington, 51-28, one off a team season high.

"We know we have a team full of great shooters, so it's just having confidence in each other," said Puletti. "We work on shooting in practice, which makes it easier knocking down shots in the game.

"It's big to start the year off with a big W against a good team, especially since we'll face more good teams coming up. Knowing we can win like this gives us confidence moving forward."

Next Up
John Carroll will return to action on Wednesday, staying at home. The Blue Streaks will host Otterbein at 7 pm in the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

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