Box Score

ALLIANCE, OHIO – The Otterbein University women’s basketball team suffered a defeat at ninth-ranked University of Mount Union Saturday afternoon, falling 76-50 in a matchup of the top-two teams in the Ohio Athletic Conference.

The loss takes Otterbein to 13-4 overall and 7-3 in the conference, while the win elevates Mount Union to 16-1, 9-1 in league play. The win also bumps the Purple Raider home court winning-streak to 19.

Otterbein now sits third in the conference standings as a result of Ohio Northern’s victory over Muskingum. The Cardinals travel to take on ONU Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m.

Mount Union held a slim 9-8 lead after a made jumper from Otterbein junior Hannah Day, but the Purple Raiders responded with a quick 9-0 run to open an 18-8 advantage by the 11:39 mark.

Both teams struggled to score over the next few minutes, with the Cardinal scoring draught continuing until freshman Tabatha Piper converted a driving baseline layup as the first-half clocked ticked under nine minutes.

Otterbein trailed 19-15 with 6:03 remaining before the half, but Mount seized control by ending the half on a 22-4 run to take a 41-19 lead at the break.

The Cardinals struggled from the field over the first 20 minutes, shooting just 8 of 27 (.296) and 1 of 10 from three-point range.

Both sides played even over the first seven minutes of the second stanza, and Mount Union used a quick 7-0 scoring spurt to widen the lead to 57-30 over the next minute, prompting an Otterbein timeout. The Cardinals were never able to make a push down the stretch.

Senior Kristi Kotterman tied for a game-high 17 points, marking the only Cardinal with more than six points. The 17 points moves Kotterman past Katy Miller (2006-10) for tenth on the program's all-time scoring list.

Kori Wiedt paced Mount Union with 17 points while Rosa LaMattina had ten.

Otterbein shot .345 from the field  compared to .508 for the Purple and White.