UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS - The future for John Carroll Women's Basketball Blue Streaks is looking fantastic!

The Blue Steaks came out hot to close out the Winking Lizard Tip-Off Tournament over the Wheaton College Thunder, 73-51, with a really impressive showing from the entire team!

This win marks the seventh straight win in the Winking Lizard Tip-Off Tournament for the Blue Streaks.

The Thunder opened the game with a three point in the opening minutes from Chloe Kostka. The Blue Streaks answered back with their typical aggressive, fast-past defense, mixed with their versatile offense. Carly Perusek's defensive plays translated into nice shots, like a pair of threes from Ava Ryncarz and Graci Semptifelter. The Blue Streaks showed dominance throughout, with their largest lead being 10 points. They closed out the quarter, 21-10, after Kate Oliver made some impactful plays for the Thunder. 

The Blue Streaks truly shined throughout the second quarter. In the first half of the quarter, they held the Thunder to just 2 points, while tacking on a quick 9 of their own. The lineup largely shifted for the Blue Streaks, as they went for a mixed squad of underclassmen. After a pair of quick layups from freshman Bella Houillion helped fuel the Blue Streaks continuing domination to end the second half, 41-18.

The Blue Streaks continued to grow their lead even further, being up by as much as 36 points throughout the third quarter. The Streaks' defensive play stayed strong, as they held the Thunder to another consecutive low-scoring quarter. Ava Ryncarz beat out her own game high this season, as she hit her 22nd point of the night with a three pointer. This is when the Streaks allowed their freshman squad to take over the game. A pair of three pointers fell through the net for Cami Elliot shortly after checking in, which proved to be a spark for the young squad. The Streaks found their rhythm early on and continued to dominate. They closed out the quarter with back-to-back layups from Carmella Sowers, with a score of 66-31.

The Thunder's Kate Oliver opened up the fourth quarter with a jumper that seemed to help boost the confidence of the team. This was the quarter where they put up their best effort, surmounting a solid 21-point performance. The future generation of the Blue Streaks played an overall very solid quarter, with some impressive defensive skills and overall good cohesion. The Streaks closed the game out, 73-22, and showed a lot of promise for the rest of the season, and for the future of the underclassmen throughout their tenure with the Streaks. 

The Blue Streaks took the throne in the Winking Lizard Tip-Off Tournament, with Ava Ryncarz winning her second consecutive tournament MVP in the process. Looking ahead, the Blue Streaks take on Marietta College in their first regular season game at home on Tuesday at 6:00P.M.