Written December 29, 2009 by Adam Prescott
WESTERVILLE, OHIO – After falling to Hanover (IN) by a score of 73-63 in its first game, Otterbein responded with a 63-43 victory over Rose-Hulman (IN) on day two of the Smokey Ballenger Classic, held Monday and Tuesday in the Rike Center.
Hanover jumped out to an early 14-8 lead in the first game Monday, but OC fought back to take a 27-24 lead when sophomore guard Kristi Kotterman buried a three-pointer to finish off a 10-0 run.
The Panthers quickly scored the game’s next five points to take a 29-27 lead, but the Cards responded and found themselves up 39-37 after another triple from Kotterman with 1:21 remaining in the first half.
Hanover scored the next four points to take a slim 41-39 edge into the break.
Kotterman, who’s previous career-high was 20 points, tallied 21 in the opening half. She and fellow sophomore Shea McCoy combined for 31 of the team’s 39 first half points.
The game remained close in the opening stages of the second half, with Hanover taking a 49-48 lead on a bucket from Molly Martin at the 16:52 mark.
Otterbein then went on a 7-0 spurt, capped by a three-pointer from McCoy, to take a 55-49 advantage with 12:28 showing on the game clock.
Hanover remained close, and eventually took a 60-59 lead at the 7:46 mark.
After the Panthers scored for a 62-59 lead, OC’s Allison Huettel converted a layup on the other end to draw the Cards back to within one, at 62-61, with 6:38 to play.
However, Otterbein would manage to score just two points over the remaining six-plus minutes and suffer the 73-63 defeat.
Kotterman scored just two points in the second half, a layup with 19 seconds remaining, to finish with a career high 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting. McCoy had just three points after halftime to tally 16 for the game.
Martin paced the Hanover attack with 17 points on an 8-of-16 effort from the floor.
Hanover shot 12-of-22 from the free-throw line while the Cardinals managed to take just four attempts from the charity stripe, making two.
Otterbein came out strong on day two against Rose-Hulman, jumping out to a 25-7 lead after the first 12 minutes. The team kept the pressure on, extending its lead to 37-12 by halftime.
Refusing to quit, Rose-Hulman stormed out of the locker room on a 16-2 run over the first six minutes of the second stanza, cutting the deficit to 39-28.
After a timeout, Otterbein turned up the tempo and scored the game’s next eight points, pushing the lead to 47-28 after a baseline jumper from Karli Volkmer at the 12:43 mark.
The Cardinals remained in control for the duration of the contest to earn a 63-43 victory.
Sophomore forward Natalie Conkle led all Cardinal scorers with 12 points, while Katie Stallard and Katy Miller chipped in 11 and 10, respectively. Senior Allison Huettel snagged a career-best 12 rebounds.
The team returns to action on Jan. 6, hosting John Carroll in the Rike Center. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
