Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Ava Ryncarz file photo
Oceane Wattier
Ava Ryncarz
70
Winner John Carroll JCU 18-2,7-2 NCAC
65
Ohio Wesleyan OWU 17-2,8-1 NCAC
Winner
John Carroll JCU
18-2,7-2 NCAC
70
Final
65
Ohio Wesleyan OWU
17-2,8-1 NCAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT 1 F
John Carroll JCU 16 10 21 9 14 70
Ohio Wesleyan OWU 10 14 17 15 9 65

Next Game:

Kenyon College

2/7/2026 | 1:05 PM

Next Game

Full Schedule
Feb. 07 (Sat) / 1:05 PM
 Kenyon College
History

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Joe Ginley '16, SID

In Battle of Ranked NCAC Foes, #11 JCU Outlasts #7 Ohio Wesleyan in OT

JCU Women's Basketball picked up a vital road victory over the NCAC juggernaut

DELAWARE, Ohio – For all of the talk of moving conferences, perhaps not enough has been made of how talented the top of the North Coast Athletic Conference is in women's basketball this year.

Three NCAC teams are in the top 10 of the NCAA's NPI selection rankings and three are in the top 11 of the latest D3hoops.com rankings. Two of the NCAC's top teams, #7 Ohio Wesleyan and #11 John Carroll, battled in a memorable matchup on Wednesday.

In a back-and-forth war, John Carroll Women's Basketball outlasted the Battling Bishops in overtime, 70-65.

The Blue Streaks' victory shakes up the NCAC standings, as JCU (7-2) sits just one game back behind OWU and Denison (now tied for first at 8-1). The Battling Bishops and Big Red will duel in the regular season's final game on February 21.

John Carroll also knocked off the top juggernaut in the conference in its own gym. A 22-game winning streak in NCAC play ended for the Battling Bishops, as OWU won last year's regular season title with a 14-0 mark and entered today 8-0 in league play.

With Graci Semptimphelter helming the offense, JCU jumped out to a nice early lead. The Blue Streaks corralled a 16-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

Two minutes into the second, a Semptimphelter triple pushed the lead into double digits. But with JCU running into some foul trouble, OWU finally got hot, with a 10-0 run leading to a JCU timeout at the halfway mark of the quarter. Despite some Carly Perusek points and a pair of Ava Ryncarz free throws, the Battling Bishops kept within striking distance. The teams went scoreless down the final two minutes, so JCU took a precarious 26-24 lead into the break. 

Carmen Heuker and Ryncarz got the third quarter started right with a 5-0 dash. Triples by Semptimphelter and Ryncarz pushed JCU further into the driver's seat. The high water mark was a 14-point advantage with 1:44 left in the third. An 8-0 run by OWU the rest of the period slimmed the margin to 47-41 after three.

Despite strong play in the paint on offense, JCU allowed the Battling Bishops to continue chipping away. Points on five consecutive possessions by the Battling Bishops led to a JCU timeout with 3 minutes to play and OWU on top, 58-53. 

But critically during the media timeout, the referees conducted a review of a Battling Bishops triple that did not beat the shot clock buzzer several possessions before. And so, the deficit slimmed to 55-53. At the 1:44 mark, Ryncarz nailed a triple to retake the lead and it was a whole new ballgame. A JCU foul on the ensuing possession allowed for two OWU foul shots, one of which was made. Neither team could score in the final 1:23, so the game took extra time.

After a layup on the Battling Bishops' opening possession, it was all Blue Streaks. JCU notched a 7-0 run powered in part by a Nicci Finazzo trey and a pair of Kaylie McKenney buckets. OWU managed to make it interesting late, slimming the gap to one possession, but JCU hit the necessary free throws to ice it.

Semptimphelter led all scorers with 19 points, adding 8 rebounds. Ryncarz played well with 19 points (including five 3-pointers) and a team-high 9 boards. Perusek tallied 13 points. Important contributions were also made by Heuker with 5 assists and McKenney, whose 8 points came at key times. 

Next Up
The Blue Streaks will return home on Saturday for Alumni Day, looking for a good turnout at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center while honoring Nicole Heffington as well as the late Sue Zidanic. JCU will host Kenyon College (6-14, 1-8 NCAC) at 1 pm. 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Nicci Finazzo

#5 Nicci Finazzo

PG
5' 5"
Sophomore
Carmen Heuker

#00 Carmen Heuker

G
5' 6"
Senior
Kaylie McKenney

#22 Kaylie McKenney

SF
5' 10"
Senior
Carly Perusek

#24 Carly Perusek

G/F
5' 9"
Senior
Ava Ryncarz

#33 Ava Ryncarz

G/F
5' 9"
Senior
Graci Semptimphelter

#14 Graci Semptimphelter

SG
5' 6"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Nicci Finazzo

#5 Nicci Finazzo

5' 5"
Sophomore
PG
Carmen Heuker

#00 Carmen Heuker

5' 6"
Senior
G
Kaylie McKenney

#22 Kaylie McKenney

5' 10"
Senior
SF
Carly Perusek

#24 Carly Perusek

5' 9"
Senior
G/F
Ava Ryncarz

#33 Ava Ryncarz

5' 9"
Senior
G/F
Graci Semptimphelter

#14 Graci Semptimphelter

5' 6"
Senior
SG

Sponsors