WESTERVILLE, OHIO – Otterbein University, ranked 25th-nationally by D3hoops.com, suffered its first loss of the season Wednesday evening with a 52-50 loss to visiting Ohio Northern University in the Rike Center.

The loss drops Otterbein to 6-1 on the season, and 1-1 in Ohio Athletic Conference play. Morgan Dumbaugh’s jumper with 4.4 seconds remaining lifts Ohio Northern to 7-1 this season and 2-0 against league opponents.

Otterbein opened the game on a 13-0 run, forcing Ohio Northern to commit four turnovers and miss its first seven field-goal attempts over the first six and a half minutes.

The Polar Bears scored their first points at the 13:10 mark, and later forced an Otterbein timeout after closing to within 17-11 with just under eight minutes to play in the half.

Northern continued to apply pressure, outscoring the Cardinals 17-8 the remainder of the half to trail just 25-24 at the break.

Otterbein finished the half shooting just 10 of 32 (.313) after making 6 of its first 12 attempts to open the game.

ONU took its first lead of the game with a layup to begin the second half, and held a 32-31 lead before a three-pointer from Hannah Day allowed Otterbein to retake control with 12:22 remaining.

Neither side led by more than three points during the final ten minutes, and Ohio Northern held a 49-46 advantage after a Joanna Snyder layup with 1:45 remaining.

Two free-throws from freshman Tabatha Piper cut the lead to 51-50 with 34 seconds to play, and senior Shea McCoy tied the game at 52-52 after ONU split a pair of free throws.

However, the Dumbaugh jumper with 4.4 seconds remaining proved to be the difference maker, as Otterbein was unable to attempt a shot on its ensuing trip up the court. The game-winner was Dumbaugh’s only made field-goal of the contest.

Junior Rachel Snedegar paced Otterbein with 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. McCoy finished with ten points while Kristi Kotterman posted nine on just 2 of 11 shooting.

Snyder led the Polar Bears with 20 points on a 9 of 15 effort from the floor.

Otterbein shot .279 from the field compared to .357 for Ohio Northern. Both teams committed 22 turnovers.

The Cardinals finish out the week Saturday afternoon, traveling to take on Marietta College. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.