TIFFIN, OHIO – Otterbein (2-4, 0-1 OAC) dropped its second-straight one point decision Wednesday evening, this time coming to Heidelberg (1-4, 1-0 OAC) at the Seiberling Gymnasium in the Ohio Athletic Conference opener for both schools.

Heidelberg took a 17-9 lead on a jumper from Kristen McConkey with just under ten minutes to play in the opening half.

Otterbein, down 23-13 with 6:24 remaining before the break, put together a 14-4 run to close the half and go to intermission locked at 27-27.

Sophomore Kristi Kotterman opened the second haf scoring with two free-throws to give the Cards a 29-27 lead, and saw themselves holding a 44-41 edge with 11:18 to play after a layup from senior Katy Miller.

The game stayed within four points until OC senior Allison Huettel made a layup with 2:55 showing on the game clock, putting the Cards ahead 60-55.  

The Student Princes then went on an 8-0 run over the next 1:47 to take a 63-60 lead with 1:07 to go. The spurt was capped by an and-one three-point play from Lyndsey DeVault.

A Kotterman layup with 22 seconds remaining made it 63-22, but Heidelberg made both free-throws on the opposite end to take a 65-62 lead with 17 seconds left.

Otterbein’s Natalie Conkle made a layup in the final seconds, but it wasn’t enough as Heideblerg preserved a 65-64 victory to open league play.

Kotterman and Conkle each tallied 16 points to lead Otterbein, with Conkle grabbing a game-best 14 rebounds to notch her first career double-double.

The Berg’s Jenny Miller led all scorers with 22 points on 10-of-18 shooting.

The team next travels to Bexley to play cross-town rival Capital on Saturday as part of a men’s and women’s double-header. Tip-off from the Capital Center is scheduled for 4 p.m.