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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein University women's basketball team split a pair of contests at its annual Smokey Ballenger Classic, rebounding from a tough loss to Misericordia University (Pa.) on day one to topple the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford on day two.
The Cardinals (5-6) lost a 17-point lead late in the second half to Misericordia Saturday evening, seeing the Cougars finish the final 6:45 on a 23-3 run, which included a 16-0 run, to escape with a stunning 74-71 victory. Otterbein then bounced back with an 84-71 triumph over Pitt-Bradford Sunday afternoon.
Denison University also took part in the event, going 2-0 with double-digit victories over both Misericordia and Pitt-Bradford.
A three-pointer from freshman Kyleigh Wyeth beat the halftime buzzer to give the Cards a 41-32 edge over the Cougars on day one. Misericordia scored the first seven points of the second half, but Otterbein responded with a 16-2 scoring spurt to open a 57-42 lead by the 12:02 mark.
Otterbein maintained the double-digit advantage as the game moved down the back stretch, widening its margin to 68-51 with 6:45 to go after an old-fashioned three-point play from junior Mary Corbett.
The Cougars would begin their climb back from that moment, eventually drawing even at 71-71 with 39 seconds left before a trifecta from Sam Baro in the closing seconds proved to be the game-winner. Corbett saw a good look to tie on the other end, but her shot from the left wing rimmed out at the buzzer.
Junior Tabatha Piper turned a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and also tallied four assists, two steals and two blocks. Sophomore Amariah Huck contributed 16 points while Chelsea Reed and Corbett contributed 13 and 12, respectively.
Hannah Seely dropped a game-high 18 points for Misericordia, which held a 22-13 advantage in points off turnovers and committed eight fewer turnovers than the Cards.
Otterbein opened strong in its quest for redemption on day two, grabbing an early 16-8 lead before slowly working the advantage to 13, at 42-29, with just under a minute to play in the first half. Pitt-Bradford scored four quick points prior to intermission, but the Cards continued their strong offensive play to open the second half and built a 61-47 lead with 13:08 left to play.
The Panthers refused to quit, clawing all the way back to cut the Cardinal lead to three, at 65-62, as the game clock moved under eight minutes. Otterbein kicked back into gear by scoring seven-straight points, capped by a three-pointer from Wyeth, to push the lead to 72-62. Pitt-Bradford would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.
Reed turned in a career-day for the Cardinals, finishing with a career-high 22 points to go along with 10 assists. She shot a perfect 8 of 8 from the field, tying the school's single-game shooting mark of 100 percent. Both Jennifer Harrison, 2002, and Sara Fee, 2005, also posted 8 for 8 shooting games during their careers.
Huck scored 18 points while Piper notched her sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and a new career-high 17 boards. Junior Madi Miller also contributed nicely offensively with 16 points, her second-highest total of the season.
Alicia Kimmel scored 19 to lead Pitt-Bradford, which shot just .371 from the floor compared to Otterbein's blistering .614 mark.
The Cardinals will be back on the floor shortly after the turn of the calendar, returning to Ohio Athletic Conference play by hosting Baldwin Wallace University on Saturday, Jan. 4 in the Rike Center.
